I Never Planned on You
by liittlewinchester
Summary: Clove Calloway moves to the renowned town of South Hampton for her senior year of high school. Her best friend already lives in South Hampton and her boyfriend is just a town over. The move should be relatively easy, right? That all changes when varsity quarterback Cato Rhodes enters the picture. AU.
1. Chapter 1

My eye's fly open as I lie in bed not being able to shake the excitement that is radiating through my body. I get to see my best friend for the first time in almost two months. Sure, moving to South Hampton for my senior year of high school wasn't number one on my list to do for this year. At least I will be starting at the beginning of the school year with my best friend. It also helps my boyfriend lives just a town over.

I get out of bed brush my hair into a high pony tail, pull on a pair of red gym shorts and a black sports bra. I practically sprint down the stairs where I meet my father in the kitchen where my usual morning fruit smoothie is waiting for me on the counter. He is sitting at the kitchen table reading what I am sure is the latest sports headlines from ESPN off of his tablet.

"Morning Dad!" I say happily

"Oh Morning Clove! You're up early, what's your plans for the day?" he says putting down his tablet

"Finn is coming over!" I squeak "He had off of practice today and said he wanted to go throw on the beach for a while this morning. He says some of the scouts from USC are coming to watch him this year and he wants to be extra prepared."

"That's right his father did mention something about that. Well I am glad he is able to come over and you two can spend some time together before school starts. It's good to get the Odair and Calloway team back together even if it's not officially on the field." He says letting out a deep laugh

I check the clock on the wall and notice that Finn will be here in about ten minutes and I still don't know where my sneakers are, packed somewhere in the few boxes that are left unpacked.

"Dad, Finn is going to be here soon and I still need to find my sneakers. Can you answer the door when he comes?" I ask him

All I get in response is the shake of a head as he frantically strokes his finger on his tablet again. He definitely found a new headline that got his interest. I laugh as I grab my smoothie to take with me as I go to venture through the rest of the unpacked boxes.

Box one, picture frames. Nothing. Box two, towels. Still nothing. Box three, sports trophies. Closer, but still nothing. Box four, sneakers. Finally! I grab my sneakers out of the box and slip them on. While I finished tying them I hear the doorbell ring. A wide smile the size of Texas creeps across my face.

"Sir!" I hear Finnicks voice cheerily in the distance

* * *

"Finnick Thomas Odair get your ass out of bed now!" I hear my mother screech from down the hall

"Why?" I moan rolling over in bed.

That's when it hits me, Clove! I forgot I was going to meet her today. It's been two months since I've seen my best friend, if I forget to see her today she'll be crushed. I jump out of bed pull on a pair of gym shorts and an old football shirt from last season with the sleeves cut off.

"Coming Mom!" I yell as I hear her starting to stomp down the hallway

Of course I have a half hour before I need to get to Cloves house and can't find my keys. Note to self find a better place to put your keys. Finally, I find them in my practice bag. I grab my aviators and cell phone off my desk and head for the kitchen.

"Good morning my lovely mother!" I say flashing my best smile and kissing her on the cheek.

She rolls her eyes and laughs at my obvious attempt to get on her good side after the lovely wake up call this morning. She motions for me to sit at the counter while she places a plate of eggs and fruit in front of me.

"I was worried Finnick. I didn't know if you were going to remember you were meeting with Clove this morning." She says narrowing her eyes at me while a smirk dances across her lips

"Please Mom! Have a little more faith in your son than that! I would never forget Clove. Plus, we both know if I did I would never see the light of day again!" I finish letting out a chuckle before stuffing my mouth with a few pieces of cantaloupe.

Clove is my best friend. She has been my best friend for as long as I can remember, long enough that she has become like my sister. Or as I like to joke around with her saying she is my baby sister considering I was born a day before her, clearly that makes her the baby. I am very protective of her just like an older brother should be as much as she rolls her eyes at me for being protective of her, I know she finds comfort in knowing that I always have her back.

She can be the best of friend anyone can have, she is trustworthy, sincere, sweet, hysterical, and has a killer focus on anything she puts her mind too. But, getting to know her and getting through her tough outer shell is a battle in itself. If you get her angry or break her trust, forget about it. She will shut you out and not want to talk to you again. Being as close as we are to each other forgetting to meet up with her especially after a big move like she just had would not end pretty for both of us.

"Finnick?" My mom's voice changes to a somber tone

"Yeah, Mom?" I ask cocking an eye brow at her sudden change of mood

"Keep an eye on Clove during the start of school. Introduce her to all of your friends, make the transition easier for her. It's a big year for her just as much as it is for you. Especially after everything that happened she'll need you more now then ever." She says very concerned

"Mom, don't worry! I'll look out for her just like I always have, it's my job," I give her a triumphant smile wiggling my eyebrows "Her and Annie are already starting to become great friends and don't forget she has Ryder, too, which will help a lot"

Realizing the time I say goodbye to my mom, grab my lucky football and climb in my car. The drive to the new Calloway Residence is not that long from my house. I enter the code at the gate that Clove texted me and make my way up the drive way.

I walk up to the door and ring the doorbell a few seconds later I am greeted by her father as he opens the door.

"Sir!" I say confidently holding out my hand to shake his

"Finnick, good to see you again! How many times do I have to tell you we are like family please just call me Ryan," He says letting out chuckle before pulling me into a hug "I talked to your father not to long ago and he said you are looking to go to our old alma mater next year. You'll have no problem getting an offer I am sure. If you have a season like the one you had last year you'll be fine."

"Thank you, Sir-Uh, I mean Ryan- It would mean a lot to be able to play for USC like you and my dad," I say cheerily following him into the grand foyer of their new home "Does Clove now I'm here?"

"Oh I am sure she does." He puts a finger over his lips signaling to be quiet

I can hear the repeated foot steps of none other than Clove bounding down the hallway. Before I know it Clove has launched her self in my arms wrapping her arms tightly around my neck, my arms wrap around her waist and the momentum makes us spin in a circle. She puts her feet down on the floor but still keeps her arms wrapped around my neck.

"Hi Finn! I've missed you!" she says enthusiastically breaking the silence

"Hi CC! I've missed you too!"

I see her roll her eyes at the coveted nickname I still use for her. Some things just aren't going to change Clove I think to myself smiling.

"Come on! Lets get on the beach, I wanna see if you still have that famous Calloway spiral going on." I nudge her in the side and she lets out a giggle

We both say goodbye to her dad grab my football from my car and head to the beach that is in Cloves backyard.

"CC remember the party the end of summer party that I told you about that the football team always hosts?" I ask her

I watch her as she shakes her head in agreement while walking backwards on the sand trying to get good enough distance between the two of us.

"The party is tomorrow night at my house. You should come! I can introduce you to all of my friends."

She narrows her eyes skeptically at me. I know what she's thinking. All the kids in here are stuck up and rude. Well most are. Not my friends are strangely different though.

"Come on." I say practically pleading her "Annie will be there and so will my friend Jackie. She is on the soccer team too, I was telling her about you the other day. She is excited to meet you! Plus, Ryder said he was coming too."

I watched as her signature smile creeped across her face at the mention of her boyfriends name.

"Fine," she says launching the football in a perfect spiral in my direction "I'll be there."

Perfect.

* * *

**A/N: This is my first AU fic. I hope you like it! Next chapter will be more info about Clove and Finnicks relationship, the origin of Finnicks unique nickname for Clove, and we meet the rest of the lovely teenagers of South Hampton. :) Questions, comments, concerns, suggestions welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows! It made my day every time I got notified about one! It really does mean a lot to me. Anyway, sorry this update took longer then expected. I had a trouble getting it started. I also ended up writing a lot more then I thought for chapter 2 so I am splitting it into 2 chapters. I am shooting for Friday for the second half to be up so stay tuned! :)**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to include this in the first chapter! but I do not own THG or anything mentioned in here that is from the series!**

* * *

"Clove, for the love of all things holy please just find something to wear alrea-_aaaaarrrggg! _Stupid controller! You made me miss a touchdown." I hear my boyfriend yell while I am in the depths of my closet

I can't believe Finnick is making me go to this stupid party. Even worse my dad thinks it's a great idea and he won't take no for an answer.

"You're lucky you're cute or I should have kicked your ass right now for saying that to me," I say emerging from my closet to block Ryder's view of the TV screen "I don't know what the hell to wear. I don't even belong in this stupid town. You playing video games right now is not helping either"

I turn on my heels away from him to head back to my closet then, I hear a muffled laugh behind me.

"What's so funny?" I bark at him

"You know you're really cute when you're angry." he says seductively getting up from my bed and walking over to me.

"Don't touch me!"

I swat away his outstretched arms as I try to walk back into my closet. That does not happen. Ryder interlaces both of his hands around my waist pulling me close to him so my back is to his chest. He rests his chin on my shoulder leaving a small trail of kisses down my neck. The touch of his soft lips sends chills down my spine.

"Babe, listen you will look beautiful in whatever you wear. That I am sure of! It's a casual party so wear something comfortable, and believe it or not, but Odair's friends aren't as materialistic as you think." he says calmly while stroking small circles on my arms.

No matter what mood I am in I can always count on him to calm me down. I turn around to face him, cup his face in my hands, bringing his face closer to me decreasing the height difference and press a light kiss on his lips. With that I run back into my closet looking for the exact outfit that I want, leaving Ryder motionless in the spot we just were.

Suddenly, I hear the muffled noise of my phone ringing in my room.

"Who is it?" I yell to Ryder while looking through my shorts

"Odair."

I let out a silent moan knowing exactly why I am getting a call because to Finnick Odairs standards we are currently late.

Ryder sticks his head in my closet, "Should I answer it?" his voice cracks at the end because all he saw me in was my shorts and sports bra. He may be almost 18, but he still acts like an eight year old any time I'm not wearing anything that covers my stomach. I look up and see his big brown eyes staring back at me "Yes, answer it before he freaks!"

"Hey man...What's up?...Yeah...Clove had no idea what to wear...She does now...We'll be there in like 10 min...Yeah she knows...HA! okay we will see you later." he finishes and hangs up the phone.

Finally I found the outfit that I wanted to wear, purple and blue plaid shorts with a flowy white tank top. I run my brush through my hair one last time, grab Ryder's hand and we leave for Finnicks house.

The ride to Finnicks wasn't far, which didn't surprise me, and the steady stream of sports cars up the driveway didn't surprise me either.

Before my hand even reaches the doorknob, the door flies open and Finnick spins me around in a hug and says he's so happy that I finally decided to show up. When he places me down on my feet, he spots Ryder behind me and his face suddenly contorts into what I like to call "The Finnick Face". He only gets that look when he is really infuriated, clearly I missed something.

"Finn?" I whisper concerned placing my hand on his arm

"I'm fine." he mumbles

I raise an eyebrow at his answer knowing that he most certainly is not fine. Out of the corner of my eye I see a girl with red hair cascading down her back walking towards us.

"Jackie!" Finnick calls to her "This is C-"

"Oh my goodness you must be Clove! Finnick talks as much about you as he does about Annie!" she says cutting him off cheerily

"Hey!" I say simply

"Come on! I'll introduce to the rest of our friends!" she says motioning me to follow her down the hallway

"She's not going to bite Clove! Just go with her!" Finnick says as he pushes me in her direction.

She links her arm through mine when we meet and we walk through the familiar hallway of Finns house. Next to me Jackie is going on and on about each person that we pass and how excited she is that we finally get to meet and how she can't wait to start the soccer season either. Her enthusiasm scares me, but I am going to give her a chance. We make our way through the kitchen and out onto the back deck where she leads me over to a group of kids that have to be their friends.

"Hey guys!" she says as six heads snap to look at us in unison.

"Fox, what happened to you? You left like twenty minutes ago to get a drink. Did you spend a little extra time with Chase while you were gone?" A tall girl with brown hair braided perfectly down her back said winking at Jackie

At the mention of the name of Chase the large kid with dark skin and dark eyes scoffed clearly not amused about what was said. Something is definitely going on between them; need to ask Finnick about that later.

"No!" Jackie replied clearly irked "But, that doesn't matter. Guys this is Clove, Finnicks best friend."

"Ah, so you're the other women in Odairs life." A tall boy with dark hair chimed in

"I heard that, Diamond!" Annie said as she emerged from behind the big dude with the dark skin wearing a flowing white sundress "You know I love you, Clove, but Finnick is my man!"

She walks over to me laughing and snakes her arms around my neck embracing me in a hug. She pushes a strand of her dark brown curls out of her face as she stars at me with those same intense sea green eyes as Finnick. Her eyes seem to be checking me to make sure I am okay. What is up with her and Finnick tonight?

"More power to you Annie! You both are perfect together!" I reply

"Let me introduce you to everyone!" Jackie chimes in behind me. "This is Marvel Diamond, heir to a Manhattan jewelry empire," She points back to the tall boy with the dark brown hair who spoke before, "Next to him is Peeta Mellark, his parents own the most amazing and well-known bakery in South Hampton!" A much smaller boy with blonde hair and striking blue eyes waved back at me. Jackie continued "That's Katniss Everdeen, her parents own Everdeen Mining. She is also going to be on the soccer team with us." The girl with the braid down her back who I see is wearing a light blue sundress waved. "Madge Undersee is the mayors daughter. Gale Hawthorne of Hawthorne Real Estate." Gale, whose build differed from the other two boys I was introduced to, muscled and well-built nodded in my direction. Next to him was a blonde girl in a pink maxidress -who I assumed was Madge- had her fingers intertwined with Gales. "Finally! This is Thresh Montgomery his dad is a Professor at NYU and the headmaster at school."

I watched as Thresh winked at her and a deep red creeps across her face as she giggled.

"Oh will you two get a room already!" Marvel moans sarcastically

"They kind of have this thing going on, but they both deny that anything is going on between them." Annie whispers in my ear, answering my question.

Jackie shoots daggers in Marvels direction not happy with what he just said.

"Diamond where's the other moron?" she asks

"Hell if I know," He says throwing up his hands "Probably sucking Glimmers face off somewhere back in the house."

Out of the corner of my eye I see Annie staring at me the same way she did before. I decide to grab her wrist and drag her over to the railing, away from everyone else.

"Annie, what is going on?" I ask crossing my arms

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Finnick, you're both hiding something from me. And you both think you are really good at hiding it, but you're not. You are like a copy image of him, tell me what's going on?"

"He didn't tell you? He said he was going to tell you."

"If your talking about your boyfriend, then no he didn't."

"Clove, Finnick wants to tell you. So you are going to have to wait until he decides to tell you." She crosses her arms

"Fine." I leave back to the rest of the group

Jackie and Katniss are leaning against the railing now talking about the upcoming soccer season and the rumor of them getting a new coach for this year.

"Who else in the group does sports?" I ask breaking into their conversation

"Peeta and Marvel are on the guys soccer team. Gale, Thresh and Cato play Football." Katniss answers

"I had a feeling they did, Gale and Thresh." I replied

"And How is that, Clover?" Gale says from behind me opening a new beer

"First of all its Clove. And, lets just say I have been around my fair share of football for my life."

"Wait-what's your last name?" he asks raising an eyebrow at me

"Calloway?" my answer comes out more of question then a statement

"I knew you looked familiar. Holy shit, Thresh! Her dad is Ryan Calloway."

"So that's how you know Odair so well?" Thresh says joining the conversation

"What's going on?" Katniss and Jackie both say in unison

"Calloway's father is one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL. Multiple Pro-bowls and Super Bowls, the whole nine yards. Odair's Dad and Calloway's Dad played football at USC together and were the best quarterback and wide receiver duo drafted to the NFL on the same team. Your dad is my hero!" Gale finishes beaming from ear to ear at this new found information

"Like Gale said our dads played football at USC together and were best friends. They were lucky enough to get drafted to the same team and continued to stay best friends. Once they got married and had kids it was only natural that CC and I were bound to be best friends." said the familiar voice of my best friend

Annie's eyes lit up at the sight of her boyfriend and within seconds she was next to him with his hand wrapped protectively around her waist. I just can't help and think how perfect they are for each other.

"Odair we knew about your dad, why didn't you tell us your best friends dad was Ryan Calloway?" Thresh asked curiously

"Never really crossed my mind." Finn winks at me

Finnick then walks over to me, "CC we need to talk. Meet me in the kitchen."

Then he vanishes back through the crowd I watch his bronze colored hair until it stops around the granite covered island in the middle of the kitchen.

* * *

I see Clove making her way through the crowd the look painted on her face shows she is clearly infuriated with me.

"What is going on Finn? And, don't you dare say nothing is wrong because I know you better then that." She crosses her arms

"I will tell you, but you have to promise not to say anything until I am done."

She gives an annoyed shake of her head, which is my cue to continue.

"It's about Ryder-"

"I don't want to hear it Finnick! I don't care if you are trying to protect me. He's not going to cheat on me."

She turns on her heels and storms away from me. Before she is too far, I grab her arm and spin her around to face me again.

"Dammit Clove, just listen to me!" I spit out in a low growl.

Cloves green eyes widen at my voice and I see her hands ball up into fists. I have never gotten that angry with her before, but she's so damn stubborn sometimes I lose my cool.

"I'm sorry," I mumble sitting back down loosening my grip on her arm "It's just you know I have never completely trusted him. Annie told me the other day that Glimmer was bragging the other day at cheer practice about how she was hooking up with Ryder even though she knew he had a girlfriend."

Her face dropped and I can see her eyes starting to get glassy. I immediately pull her into a hug as I feel her let out a few quiet sobs on my shoulder.

"CC it's not worth crying over it. Glimmer has been known to lie plenty of times, so there is still hope." I whisper to her

"You know you're right," she pulls away and wipes away the few tears left "He wouldn't cheat on me because he knows I would kick his ass. Who is this bitch anyway?"

I let out a chuckle at her sudden change of mood to the Clove I know.

"Glimmer Cromwell. She is a model and her mom is some senior executive at Ralph Lauren. She's the head cheerleader and- get this- she has a boyfriend herself, Cato Rhodes. He's the quarterback."

* * *

**A/N: Here you go! :) I hope you like it. I promise Cato's POV will be coming next chapter, so hang in there! Hope this chapter wasn't too long! Questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, reviews welcome!**

**Next chapter as promised earlier, we find out about Finns nickname for Clove. and Cato's POV.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks again for all the new follows and reviews! As promised here is the next part last chapter and yes we finally meet Cato! :) haha Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Dude. Where have you been?" Marvel yells when I walk on to the deck

"I got stuck showing the rest of the idiots on the team how to really play Madden Football. What did I miss?" I ask taking a beer from Marvels hand

"Odairs best friend showed up. We got introduced to her." Marvel said almost bored

"Cato." Jackie breaks in, Katniss trailing behind her

"Yes, Fox?"

"Do you ever plan on wearing another shirt?" She says pointing at the blue plaid shirt that I am currently wearing and apparently I wear a lot.

"Don't lie Fox you know you like it!" I say giving her a wink

She scoffs, "Don't flatter yourself Rhodes!" and walks away into the crowd

I watch her as her red hair sways back and forth as she walks away. Damn if she wasn't so...so..._Jackie_ I would definitely want to get with her. I scan the rest of the crowd on the deck just to see who is actually here when my eyes fall on Odair, his girlfriend and another girl that I have never seen before. She is small, but she's deceivingly powerful and athletic, I can tell that right away, long raven colored hair that falls to the middle of her back and freckles dusted across her face. I need to meet that girl.

"Diamond, whose the girl with Odair in the kitchen?" I nudge him in the ribs

"That's Cresta. You should know that dude."

"No not her. The other one that's sitting on the counter."

"That's Clove, Odairs best friend," Gale says joining us up against the railing "Rhodes, guess who her dad is?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Dude, think. Her last name is Calloway and Odairs dad is Jeff Odair. USC. Football..."he trails off hoping that I would catch on

I take another swig from my beer thinking for the answer and then choke when I realize who it actually is.

"Ryan Calloway!" my answer comes out more stunned than I planned

"Exactly." he says cooly leaning up against the deck railing

Well, this girl is turning out to be more intriguing than I thought. Now I really need to get to know her since Glimmer and I are broken up there is no harm in just talking to her. Not like that has ever stopped me before. I am Cato Rhodes I get to do whatever the hell I want.

"Dude, I know that look on your face. Whatever your thinking of doing with Calloway don't she has a boyfriend, and you're not going to like who he is," Marvel says pointing his finger at me "Forget about that her having a boyfriend, you have a girlfriend."

"Not anymore I don't." I respond deadpanned still keeping my eye on the Calloway girl

"What?" Gale and Marvel respond in unison

"Found out she was cheating on me with Ryder Kensington from East Hampton Prep."

"That sucks, man. Especially after everything that happened last year." Marvel says patting me on the shoulder

"Now you're really not going to like who her boyfriend is." Gale laughs. Marvel seems too stunned to even talk.

I ignore their reactions and walk away into the kitchen to meet this new girl.

"Finn you're wrong! There is no way the Jets are going to be as awful as they were last year. They have a new offensive coordinator and Rex Ryan is taking over the defense again. He was a defensive coordinator in Baltimore before he came to New York. Just in case you have forgotten, they did make it to the AFC championships two years in a row Ryan's first two years of coaching." I hear her protest matter-of-factly as I walk closer to them

"I don't know, CC. Mark Sanchez didn't show much at all last season I don't think they can pull it off this year."

_CC? Why was he calling her CC?_

"It was one lousy season. Don't right him off yet!" I can see the fire that is dancing in her eyes

"Cato, when did you get here?" Finnick says changing the subject

"I've been here the whole time, man. Just got stuck playing video games for a while," I give him a high five "Hey, Annie"

"Hi" she says simply

"We're not done with that conversation, Finnick." Clove crosses her arms letting out a huff like a small child who couldn't buy a candy bar

"Someone's getting feisty." I chuckle directing my eyes towards Clove

"And you are?" She scowls at me

"Uhh...right. Cato this is CC, CC that's- Ouch!" Finnick blurts out rubbing the back of his head

"It's Clove. Not CC." she says as her lips form a small smile

"I have to ask, Where did the nickname come from?"

"When I was little I couldn't pronounce Clove's name. So, I started calling her CC instead and the name just stuck." Odair responded

"The name just stuck for too long." Clove added

We are joined by another person similar to my height and build, I don't realize exactly who it is until he slides in next to Clove and she places a kiss on his cheek. Kensington. I feel my blood starting to boil and my grip on the counter starts to tighten. Why was I feeling this way? It couldn't be because of Clove, I have only known her for five minutes, it's because of what he did with Glimmer. Yeah, that's it, I think trying to convince myself. I watch as the two exchange more words as they react with each other I realize that Clove has no idea what happened with him and Glimmer. Damn, that guy is a bigger jerk than I thought. As she continues talking with Finnick she looks in my direction and we hold each other's stare for only a few seconds before she turns away. But, for those two seconds I have never seen such an intense pair of green eyes before.

Who am I kidding, I almost cracked Odair's counter top in half because of her being with another guy. She is going to be a challenge but that's alright I am up for it. I lean up against the counter and cross my arms. Out of the corner of my eye I see Odair looking at me strangely and I realize the wicked smirk that is dancing across my face. I shake it off like it was nothing and return to joining their conversation.

* * *

I can't find Ryder anywhere, and after Finnick told me what he did I am scared to think of the possibility that it could be true. As I come down the stairs I spot Annie talking to a group of girls who I am sure are the other cheerleaders.

"Hey Annie!" I yell to her

Surprisingly over the loud music she hears me and turns around and waves.

"What's up Clove?" She asks cheerfully meeting me at the end of the stairs

"Have you seen Ryder? I've been looking for him for what seems like...What?" her eyes widen while I'm talking to her.

She weakly points behind me, then runs away. I turn around to see what she's talking about. In a matter of seconds shes back dragging Finnick behind her.

"Annie what's going on?" he asks franticly then his voice drops to a whisper "Damn..."

All I see in front of me is Ryder with his hands all over some blond in a purple dress, who I am sure is this Glimmer chick. First it feels like my heart just dropped twenty stories through the floor that feeling is replaced my anger that I haven't quite felt before. I walk over to the two on the couch and rip Ryder's left arm off of her, so he knows that I am there.

"So, it's true huh?" my voice starts to shake

"I-I uhh.." he starts stammers realizing what's going on

"I don't want to hear it Ryder. I should have believed Finn when he told me the first time. You think you're so good at hiding everything don't you. Well, plot twist people talk you should have figured I was going to find out. People talk." my voice now in a full yell

"Clove- Wait, I can explain..."

"I don't want to hear it! We're done Ryder, done! I have too much dignity for myself to ever want to take that kind of crap from anyone," I turn to face the other girl on the couch narrowing my eyes at her "And you! I don't even know you! But, you better watch your back!"

Her eyes widen at me in horror she spots someone over by the wall and runs over to them. I turn and watch as she wraps her arms around Cato in return he pushes her away not even recognizing the hurt look on her face. That's when it starts to make sense he was her boyfriend, he found out before I did and broke up with her. Way to figure it out Clove!

Something touches my arm and I turn to see Ryder, "Don't touch me!" I spit at him. I push through the small crowd that has gathered at the entrance of the room and make my way up the stairs up to Finnicks room.

"Clove!" Ryder calls

I stop half way up the stairs, but don't turn around.

"Leave Kensington. Now. You too Glimmer." Finnick demands

I peek over my shoulder and watch as Ryder leaves, and I see a streak of blond hair and a blue shirt fly through the front door. Dammit Rhodes! I am back down the stairs and out the front door.

"Hey Kensington!" Cato calls out

Next thing I know Cato pulls his hand back and it launches right at Ryder's face. Glimmer lets out a shriek and starts crying. This gets me even angrier.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I yell at him

"I-I umm... I" He seems to be in some sort of weird trance

"I can handle my own problems thanks!" I storm away back to the house

* * *

**A/N: So, I hope you all liked this chapter! I hope it wasn't confusing! If anything is unclear let me know and I'll try to help! Suggestions, comments, questions welcome!:)**

**Also, I have an idea for a Cato and Clove scene that takes place after Clove leaves Cato in the front lawn. If you want me to include it I'll make it part of the next chapter! I didn't know if I was boring you guys with the party and you wanted me to move onto something else. If you want me to include it let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: YAYYY! Finally a new update, sorry for the wait this chapter took me so long to write! hope you like it!**

**I hope everyone got their copies of The Hunger Games DVD's or is getting theirs soon! It is amazing! :)**

**BIG Catching Fire casting news today! We finally have a Finnick! What do you guys think? Clearly Finnick is one of my favorite characters (besides Cato and Clove of course!) I hope he can do him justice!**

**and last thought! did anyone catch my Xander reference in the last chapter with Cato's blue plaid shirt? ;) Don't get me wrong I love Xander in his shirt, I just had to include it!**

**Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

**Clove**

My phone starts to ring loudly next to my head, not in the mood to talk to whoever it is, I ignore the call and pull my purple comforter back over my head snuggling back into my pillow to go off to sleep again. Not to long after the doorbell wakes me up, I moan and pull my blankets closer around my neck just wanting to drown out the world. That doesn't happen because the all to familiar voice of Jackie Fox greets my father when he opens the front door. I perk up in bed to hear she is saying, but the sudden cold air makes me curl back up under my blankets.

"Hi Mr. Calloway! I'm Jackie Fox, I am here on strict orders from Finnick to get Clove out of the house!" she says cheerfully

_No, no, no please let this be a dream!_

"Hi Jackie nice to meet you! I am glad Finnick decided to send you over, Clove hasn't been out of her room in almost three days. She could use another friend to help her out. Her room is up the stairs second door on the left."

"Thanks Mr. Calloway!"

Jackie's footsteps get closer and closer to my door and stop right in front. I brace myself for what is going to come next. There are three knocks at my door, "Clove?" she whispers cautiously, I decide not to answer.

She repeats the process again and again until she is loudly banging on my door and screams, "Clove Calloway you open your door right now!" I pull myself out of bed and walk slowly over to my door, but first I catch a glimpse of myself in my mirror. My hair is everywhere and I am still in the same purple shorts and black tank top that I put on the night I got home from the party.

I open the door slowly the bright light from the hallway blinds briefly and I am greeted by a wide-eyed Jackie. She lets out a small gasp and I narrow my eyes at her.

"I got here just in time." She plasters a confidant smile on her face

"What do you want Jackie?"

"Finnick sent me on strict orders to get you out of the house. He said he normally would come and drag you out of the house, but since you refuse to talk to him he sent me instead. Now go get dressed!"

She is right I haven't talked to him since I left his house. I just didn't want to hear what he had to say about what happened.

"Jackie I'm not going. I am perfectly fine, there is some stuff I have to do." I cross my arms at her

"That exactly what Finn said." she remarked

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused

She pulls out her phone from her pocket and runs her finger over the screen trying to find I am assuming is a text message from Finnick Odair himself.

"Ahh here it is! 'I don't care if she gives excuses of why she doesn't want to leave the house. Like she is too busy or has other things to do. She needs to stop holding her feelings in and not let Ryder win. Tell her I miss her too,''She turns the phone around to me so I can see the text, "I am not leaving here Clove unless I have you with me."

Dammit he knows me too well.

I let out a huff "Fine. Where are we going?"

Jackie scrunches her face thinking, "I got it. Now let's get you dressed."

She storms into my room, turns on my light and is gone into my closet. I can hear the scraping of the hangers moving in my closet while I take a brush through my matted mess of hair.

"Clove...did you hear me?" she asks poking her head out of the closet

"Huh-what?"

"Go take a shower. I am not letting you go out looking like that."

My shower was relatively quick, the hot water felt relaxing when it pelted my skin. It felt like I was washing away all the bad memories from that night, I felt more relieved. I grabbed the towel that is sitting on the counter next to me and wrapped it tightly around my body. When I walked out of the bathroom Jackie was sitting on my bed next to the clothes she laid out for me.

She laid out a blue v-neck t-shirt and jean shorts, the blue wasn't just any blue it was the same blue has _his_ eyes. The same blue that made my heart pound a few beats faster whenever he looked at me that night. I didn't even know I owned that shirt, but the color of it makes me more pleased to put it on.

Jackie moves me over to the stool in front of my vanity where she has a blow dryer and my hair straightener set up. She whirls around me brushing, drying, straightening and before I know it she is done and has even put some make up on me. I look back to normal again.

"Perfect! Now you look back too normal." She squeals and claps her hands together

I grab my phone off my desk and we head down the stairs to go to whereever Jackie decided to take me. Once we are in Jackie's car she pulls out her iPod and blasts "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift through the speakers of her white Honda. We both start to sing obnoxiously loud as we drive along the rode of South Hampton. The song makes me feel so much better about my break up with Ryder.

We end up closer to the part of town where there are all the stores. Jackie pulls into the driveway of a large green house with a huge wood door.

"We're here!" she says pulling the key out from her ignition

"And where is that exactly?" I ask opening my door

She already closed her door and is walking up the steps to the door of the house. When I get closer to the door I see a frame hanging on the front with a typed piece of paper inside:

**In the bakery.**

**If you are one of my friends you know what to do. **

**-Peeta**

I look from Jackie, to the frame, and back to Jackie.

"Is Peeta's bakery connected to his house?" I ask her incredulously

"Exactly!" she replies as a smile spreads across her face

She reaches over to a flower pot next to the front door, unscrews the top of it and takes out a key from the pot. She uses the key to open the front door.

"Wow that's...interesting!" I am completely stunned by what just happened

All she does is laugh and lead me into the Mellark house. Immediately walking into Peeta's house the first thing I notice is the large sparkling chandelier that is hanging on the high ceiling, along with the really nice wood floor and the huge brown leather couches facing a flat screen TV. The houses here will never cease to amaze me. Jackie grabs my arm and pulls me along with her.

"Peeta?" she calls out

"In here!" we see a flash of blond in a door frame in their kitchen

Suddenly his head appears again in the door frame and gives us a genuine smile. He walks out to meet us in the kitchen of his house, his blond hair hangs loosely in his face and he is covered in flour from head to toe and he couldn't look happier.

"Hey you two!" he gives Jackie a hug and whispers something in her ear.

When he pulls away she catches her bottom lip with her teeth and looks to the ground. Peeta comes over to me next and gives me a really tight hug.

"Hi Clove. How are you doing?" he asks cautiously

"I'm fine Peeta really." I give him a weak smile

Jackie eyes me cautiously and decides to speak up "Well, Peeta we have a broken heart on the mend here and I was hoping that you had something special for us to eat our feelings with." She lets out giggle and I have to admit it made me smile as well.

"I know exactly what will work, there is a fresh batch in the oven right now. Go into the bakery and sit at the normal table. I'll be over soon." He exclaims and heads back into the bakery

I go follow Peeta's lead and start to walk to the bakery, but Jackie grabs my arm and whirls me around.

"Clove wait!"

"What?"

"I-erm-uhh-I-umm..."

"Out with it Jackie!"

"Peeta just told me Ryder is in the bakery...with Glimmer, too." She says quietly

I feel my heart drop again and memories from the night start rushing back; from Finnick telling me in the kitchen, to Annie's shocked expression by the stairs, to Glimmers perfect blond curls.

"Clove? Clove?," Jackie says shaking my arm "Do you not want to go in?"

I swallow the lump in my throat, "I'm fine, really. Can't let him win, right? Calloway's never lose."

She gives me a hug and leads me into the bakery. The bakery is really nice, painted bright colors and the smell is absolutely amazing. We pass by a square table where I spot the those same perfect blond curls sparkling in the sunlight, next to her is Ryder with his arm rested on the back of Glimmers chair. As soon as he sees me he stops talking to his friends and watches me walk past him. I don't even bother to look at him as Jackie and I walk over to a huge round table in the corner on the opposite side of the bakery of where they are.

"How many people are we expecting to join us?" I ask sarcastically gesturing to the six other empty chairs around the table

"It's the usual table that our friends sit at when they come. Football practice is almost done so Cato, Gale, and Thresh will most likely be over after practice," Peeta says placing a basket of what looks like steaming hot rolls in front of us "These are the famous Mellark Bakery cheese buns, they are perfect for mending broken hearts and they are also Katniss' favorites."

He blushes when he mentions Katniss and leaves to help his dad back behind the counter.

"What's up with him and Katniss?" I ask Jackie while we both dig into the basket and rip apart the cheese buns

"Well, nobody is supposed to know this, but I, Jackie Fox, always find out everything, Peeta has been in love with Katniss since...since we were all five years old. She doesn't know it yet, but she really does love him, too. I just need to work my magic on Katniss." She wiggles her fingers at me like she has magic pouring out of her fingertips

While we finish our cheese buns, Jackie and I watch as three large figures appear through the door of the bakery.

Jackie looks at her cellphone, "One o'clock right on time!"

Gale, Thresh, and Marvel soon join us around the table with the most delicious looking sandwiches I have ever seen. Thresh slides into the chair next to Jackie, Gale takes the chair next to Thresh, and Marvel takes the empty chair next to me.

I look up and in the kitchen talking to Peeta, I see the unmistakable bronzed colored hair of my best friend. Finnick sees me watching him and soon disappears back into Peeta's house.

"I'll be back, I need to take care of something." I say pushing my chair back and getting up from the table.

Peeta spots me when I walk into the kitchen and told me Finnick went back into the house. I find Finnick in the living room on one of the big couches scrolling through his phone.

"Is this seat taken?" I ask pointing to the empty seat next to him

He doesn't say anything so I sit down anyway.

"Finn listen, I am sorry I haven't spoken to you the last couple of days. I just needed time to figure out the break up and how to handle it."

"CC, I just don't understand why you didn't talk to me. Our whole lives we came to each other for everything and always helped each other. Now all of a sudden you stopped?" I can see the hurt flooding his sea green eyes

Seeing how much I hurt him it makes my heart ache, I rest my head on his shoulder and let out a sigh.

"Finn, you seem to forget how well I know you. I just wasn't in the mood to hear the whole 'He's a jerk, wait until I get my hands on him, how dare he mess with my CC' speech." He opens his mouth to protest what I just said, but I interrupt him "Don't tell me that wasn't what you were thinking." He lets out a laugh because he knows I'm right

"The whole love thing is easy for you Finn. You have been in love with the same girl since third grade and you two are destined to get married. I thought I loved Ryder, but I guess he didn't feel the same for me. I just needed to figure things out on my own this time."

"I know I can be over protective at times. But, you will always be my baby sister and I will always be there for whenever you need me." He gives me a hug and I smile

"Come on _big brother_ I have some more cheese buns to eat!" Finnick beams proudly at my use of big brother

* * *

**Cato**

I grab my keys and wallet from my car and start making my way up towards Mellark's bakery when a flash of red appears in front of me and stops me from moving any further.

"Couldn't stay away from me could you Fox?" I wink at her

"What are you doing here?" she commands poking a finger at my chest

"The last time I checked, Jackie, getting a sandwich isn't illegal."

"Clove is here and it is hard enough that Ryder and Glimmer are here, too. She doesn't need to deal with you, not like you made the best impression on her over the weekend anyway." She rolls her eyes

I can feel my blood start to boil again, just thinking of Ryder being in the bakery. He doesn't deserve to be anywhere near Clove after the way he treated her. The thought of why I should even care still dances in my head since Clove doesn't even want to talk to me, it shouldn't make a difference. But, it does.

"Cato? Did you hear me?" Jackie's voice brings me back to reality

Before I can even answer her my phone starts ringing, the screen lights up and my sister's name.

"I need to get this it's my sister Courtney, don't worry I'll stay away from Clove. She already hates me enough." I tell her sullenly

She eyes me strangely on how I responded to her and enters back into the bakery.

"Hi Court...I just got done with practice, I am at Mellark's Bakery...I told you I was coming here...It's not my fault Mom and Dad are back in Manhattan and don't pay any attention to us!... I'm sorry, I'm sorry Courtney calm down! You know I appreciate everything that you have done for us...I'll be home in enough time for dinner...Tell Cam to look for his bear under his bed...I have to go, I'll be home later." I hang up and take a deep breath

Now, finally time for my sandwich! I start to walk into the bakery when I feel something slam into my chest. I look down and see the all too familiar hair of the person that doesn't want to see me at all.

* * *

**Clove**

I cover my eyes with my hands as I push passed Finnick and practically fly out the front door of the bakery when I collide with what feels like a brick wall. Two big hands emerge from the brick wall and grab my arms holding me still.

"What the hell?" I moan rubbing my head

When I pull my hands away from my face I see the face of the last person that I wanted to see. Even through the tears that are filling my eyes I can see his crystal blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight, and his blond hair shining like a rare precious metal.

_You need to pull yourself together Clove! Now is not the time to be thinking like this!_

"Move Goliath, I need to get out of here!" I bark pushing past him

He lets out a deep laugh and grabs my arm again placing me in front of him, "What did you just call me? Where do you think you're going Calloway? You hardly know the town."

"I don't care, I just want to be anywhere, but here." my voice cracks and I feel a tear slide down my face

"What happened?" he brushes a tear off my cheek with his thumb

Just the slight touch of his thumb on my cheek sends electricity through my body. That never happened with Ryder.

"I was talking to Marvel inside and Ryder was watching us the whole time. I guess he assumed I was flirting with Marvel so when I looked up first thing Ryder did was grab the back of Glimmers head and started to kiss her. I thought I could handle it I really did, but it made me feel so sick to my stomach and..." The tears start streaming down my eyes and I can't stop it

I let my head fall into Cato's chest and my hands hang limp at my side, he loops his arms around my waist and pulls me in closer to him. All I do is just let the tears flow from my eyes into Cato's chest and after a few minutes I feel him start to stroke small circles on my back. I hear footsteps start to hit the ground behind us and Cato's arms tense up around me. He moves me so I am now standing behind him, but he keeps a tight grip on one of my hands.

"So the rumor is true, sloppy seconds do belong together!" I hear Ryder announce to his friends and Glimmer lets out a shrill of a laugh

A strangled cry emerges from the back of my throat and Cato starts to rub small circles on my hand.

"What are you doing here Kensington?" Cato growls at him "You don't live in this town. I am sure you have a perfectly fine bakery in East Hampton."

"Oh, there is! But, in case you have forgotten Glimmer still lives in this town. You're not getting rid of me any time soon." He laughs viciously and gives Glimmer a rough kiss on the cheek

"Leave Kensington, unless you plan on spending the first half of the season on the bench." Gale's low voice emerges from the bakery door

"Enjoy your sloppy seconds Rhodes. You won't be getting anywhere soon." Ryder tells Cato

I feel every muscle in his body tighten up, I use every ounce of strength in my body to keep him in one spot.

"He's not worth it." I whisper to him

We both watch as Ryder and his friends get in their cars and drive away, back to East Hampton. Cato turns around and loops his arms around my waist again and this time I wrap my arms around him too. I let a few more tears slide down my face.

"You are not anyone's sloppy seconds, Clove."

"Thanks." I tell him half heartedly

"It's true. And I am going to do everything in my power to protect you from that jerk." He whispers into my hair

We stand there for a while longer just holding on to each other until I stop crying.

Nothing has ever felt more right.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Some of you maybe thinking why am I rushing things between Cato and Clove. I promise other things will start making sense in the chapters to come! Questions, comments, concerns, suggestions as always are welcome! See you again in a few days with the next chapters! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews for last chapter! They were some of the best reviews to date! I am glad you all liked last chapter! :) Don't worry something is coming to Ryder in the future for treating Clove like that.**

**I am going to reply to the Anon/Guest reviews in the bottom A/N so if you have left an Anon review make sure to check out the bottom.**

**Here is a short chapter just to hold you guys over for a big Clato chapter coming next! **

**Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

**Clove**

"Clove where are you going?" I hear Jackie yell from behind me

"I told you I have to get to the school store to get my uniform before it closes." I yell back to her as I open the door to the locker room at school

"We are not done talking about this!" she yells back to me

Oh yes we are, I think to myself as I try to get as far away from her as possible.

Today was the first day of soccer practice at my new high school, Panem Preparatory. It was the best practice I have ever had, every chance I got I was able to make a goal. I was on top of my game. Not to mention that the rumors Katniss and Jackie heard about us getting a new coach were true and the new coach, Coach Enobaria, is the coach I had back at my old high school. She is tough and pushes you until you think you are about break, but you can't help and want to play your absolute best for her. Unfortunately Jackie Fox certainly knows how to put a damper on a good day, the whole time during practice she constantly questioned me about what happened between me and Cato at the bakery, I refused to tell her anything and I still do.

Now practice is over and I am left to dodging her in the hallways and get out of here quickly as I can.

"Clove Elizabeth Calloway, you stop right now and tell me what happened!" Jackie's footsteps are getting closer now

I turn around to face her and start to back pedal down the hallway, "Jackie, I told we are just friends. That is it!"

"But Clove there is more that you don't know!" she abruptly stops staring past me

I turn around to see what she is looking at and also knowing I am not the most steady person on my feet either it is better I am facing forward. Ahead of me I see Gale emerge out of the athletic trainers office with an ice pack wrapped around his elbow after him Cato comes out with an ice pack on his shoulder.

"Hey Goliath!" I call out to Cato

He turns around and gives me his signature crooked smile. When I get closer I see that all he is wearing is a pair of shorts and no shirt. I can see every muscle in his body, he has the most perfect abs I have ever seen. My heart starts to beat faster, I stare at his abs for just a little to long and feel my feet start to lose balance underneath me. I cover my eyes and brace myself for hitting the ground.

I'm not moving anymore, but there is no pain shooting through my body. I crack my fingers open peeking through them and see the ground is still a good distance away, but my body is trembling like crazy.

"It's okay. I got you." Cato's husky voice whispers in a soothing voice in my ear

He tilts me back up onto my feet so I am standing straight up, but he's muscled arm that shot out and caught me is still around my stomach. I still haven't taken my hands off my face now that I am more mortified by the fact that I almost face planted right in front of him.

_Way to go Clove, you always know how to make an entrance!_

Cato starts to peel my hands from my face, I let them fall to my side and still look to the ground.

"Hey...hey..." he coos sweetly at me and sticks a finger under my chin to make our gazes meet "Clove are you ok?"

"Yeah" I moan hoping he didn't catch that I almost face planted because of his perfect abs. But, the mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes tell me otherwise.

"Don't worry, I thought it was really cute." he says winking at me

I feel a deep blush start to creep across my face.

"So, Clove where are you off to in such a hurry?" Gale's voice breaks into the perfect moment we were having

"Uh- The school store. Gotta pick up my uniform and I was trying to escape Jackie."

All three of us turn and see a completely dumbfounded Jackie standing motionless at the end of the hallway.

"What's the quickest way to get there from here?" I whisper to Gale

He whispers me the directions and I am off running into the direction of the school store.

"Damn you! Damn both of you!" I hear Jackie screech at the two of them

They both laugh wholeheartedly at her.

I can see the door to the school store right in my sight and hear Jackie getting closer.

"I saw it Clove there is something there."

"Jackie you're being ridiculous."

Suddenly something grabs me and pins me up against the lockers. I am face to face with Marvel Diamond, Jackie comes up beside him placing her hand on her stomach catching her breath. I don't even bother to struggle under Marvels grip because this whole thing is getting really ridiculous.

"She dragged you into this too, Diamond?"

"You need to know the truth Clove and this is the only way for you to listen."

"What? What could be so important that you need to pin me up against a locker to tell me?" I growl through my teeth

"It's about Cato,"Jackie gets out between breaths "He doesn't do relationships, all he wants to do is get with any girl he can and will drop them as soon as he gets what he wants. We just don't want you to get hurt."

"For the tenth time today Jackie, Cato and I are just friends! He caught me at the bakery when I was at a weak point and just so happened to be the one to comfort me. The last time I checked it is okay for a girl and a guy to be friends. Wait a second, what about him and Glimmer? They were in a relationship." I can feel my anger rising

"You don't get it Clove. Glimmer is just as bad a Cato when it comes to relationships. That's what made their relationship work, until Glimmer decided to cheat on Cato of course,"Marvel takes in a deep breath "You deserve someone so much better then that, especially after the way Ryder treated you."

"Oh yeah, Diamond? And who might that be?"

"Me." he says simply

I am too stunned to even say anything.

"What?!" Jackie shrieks next to him

"What?!" Cato roars from down the hallway

As soon as I spot Cato over Marvels shoulder he disappears, shortly after we hear a door slam shut.

Well, this is not going to turn out well.

* * *

**A/N: Please don't be too mad at me for the ending! :/ I just had to shake things up a bit...just a bit! Don't worry my fellow Clato shippers...all will be well next chapter! hang in there :)**

**Anon Review replies:**

**CH.1**

Faye:Thank you so much! and thanks for being my first review! it made my day :)

Amanda:Thank you so much! I hope you are still enjoying it!

**Ch.2**

Anonymouslyme: I like your pen name! :) and thanks!

Guest: Hope you still like the story!

**Ch.4**

Guest (1): dont worry there will be more Clato romance soon! :)

Guest (2): Don't you worry! Ryder will pay for treating Clove like that. I got it covered! thanks for the review!

Emma: You do have a point, they did get cheated on! and who doesn't want some Clato romance in a story :) Thank you for your review and the comment about my writing. Something positive like that means so much!

RealMcCoy16: Thank you soo much! :)

Guest (3): aww thanks! :) I agree with you I lovvve Clato too! I will for sure!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you everyone again for all the fabulous reviews! even though the last chapter was just a short little fun one! This chapter is kind of a lead up to the big chunk of the chapter. I decided to split it or else the chapter would be really huge! The rest of this is coming later tonight so stay tuned! :) Again thank you so much for every review that has come in. I can't explain how much it truly means to me!**

* * *

**Clove**

The whole car ride back to my house from practice Jackie and I don't talk. The only noise is the low mumble of music coming from the speakers in her car. We are both too stunned at the day's events to even talk. When she pulls into my driveway, puts the car in park and we both sit in her car not saying anything.

"Clove look I had no idea any of that was going to happen..." Jackie starts, but I raise my hand to stop her from continuing

"I know Jackie. I can't afford to get involved with another relationship right now. "

I turn to face her and her face is flooded with worry. She thinks that I am mad at her. All I know is for the short time that we have been friends it's hard to hide anything from each other since we can read each other so well.

"I am not mad at you I promise." She gives me a small sigh of relief

"Now what are you going to do about Marvel?"

"That my dear Jackie, is not going to be an easy task, whatever I decide to do. I just don't want to hurt him. Hold on I have a better idea, I'll become a nun it'll solve all my problems. Care to join?"

"I would love to!" she giggles

Suddenly my phone decides to spring to life somewhere inside my practice bag. I rummage through it as quickly as I can so the call doesn't go to voice mail once I find it I see that my dad's name is lit up across the screen.

"Hi Dad! Are you home? I have some great news to tell you!" I tell him excitedly

"I'm sorry, Clove I'm not home that's why I was calling you. I got called to do commentary for the Carolina Panthers preseason game. I am on my way to the airport now." he tells me

"Oh. That's great dad!" I say trying really hard to hide my disappointment

"I'm sorry hun I really am. On the other hand, I am really excited to hear this news you have to tell me."

"We found out who the new coach is today. Its Enobaria!"

He gives a loud "Whoop!" on the other end of the phone.

I bust out laughing at his reaction, "Dad what was that?"

"You'll be going to States again this year Clove I know it!" he stops and listens to the muffled announcement that is coming over the airport PA system "That's the call for my flight. I had better get going. Love you, Clove."

"Love you too Dad. Call when you land and have a safe flight." with that I hang up

"Everything okay?" Jackie asks

"Oh, yeah it's fine. The football season is starting soon so my dad has his football duties to attend to. I had better get going, we'll talk later k? Thanks for the ride."

"You got it, girl."

I grab my bag, shut the door to Jackie's car and watch as she leaves down the driveway. I clamber up the stairs of my house dragging my practice bag with me, once I open the front door I hear clanking of pots coming from the kitchen. My feet feel like they have been glued to the ground, I slowly look around the foyer and try find a weapon to use just in case I'll need it.

"Miss Clove?" a voice with a British accent rings out from the kitchen

"Lucy?" I cock my head to the side raising an eyebrow

She emerges from the kitchen and is holding a plate of her famous steaming hot chocolate chip cookies. Her auburn colored hair is pulled up into a bun on top of her head and she is wearing her usual thick black rimmed glasses, her blue eyes beaming excitedly through the frames.

I am so excited and astonished to see her, but the blue of her eyes remind me of the pair that swore to do anything to protect me that day back at the bakery. My hands start to shake slightly the more I think about that day.

_Stop it, Clove! You barely know each other, just think of what Jackie said. You don't need to get hurt again._ I chant over and over in my head

"Miss Clove look at you! You have grown up so beautifully!" Lucy chirps making me turn in a circle for her

"Lucy how many times have I told you, it is okay to just call me Clove! It is great to see you!" I give her a big hug and grab a cookie from the plate

"Your father called me to come over while he was away for a few days, to make sure the house is clean and make you your meals."

Typical of my father, I am almost 18, but he still calls my old nanny to come and look after me while he is gone. He always wants the best for this little girl. I will hardly be home for the few days he is gone anyway, but I guess it is good to have Lucy around again for the time being.

"Thanks Lucy! I am going to head out on to the beach for a while. A lot happened at practice today and I need to clear my mind. Make yourself at home!" I yell to her as I run up the stairs.

Once I get to my room I chuck my bag into my closet, grab my phone and flop down on my bed letting out a huge sigh of relief. Without even thinking my fingers glide across the screen of my phone typing the digits of the phone number to my other half.

"Clove." I can feel Finn's voice ooze with anger through the phone

"Finnick." I say trying to mock his tone while stifling a laugh

"Care to explain what happened at practice today?"

"No." I tell him bluntly

"But, why CC?" His starts to whine like a four-year old

"I am not in the mood Finn. What are you doing tonight?"

"I have a date with Annie."

"You want to come stay over tonight? Dad left for a preseason game in North Carolina and I really don't want to stay in the house by myself. Bring Annie, too."

"Sure thing we will be over around ten o'clock."

"Deal." I tell him excitedly and hang up

I head into the bathroom and quickly take a shower to get rid of the grimy feeling from practice. Once I am out of the shower I put on my black and gold stripped bikini and purple shorts. I pull my wet hair into a messy bun on the top of my head, grab my ipod and towel and head out the back door onto the beach.

Once I get to the beach the warm sand feels soothing on my feet and I immediately start to relax. I find a good spot not to far from my house and lay my towel down. Before I plug my earphones into my head, I hear the squeal of two small children laughing down the beach.

I turn my head and see a boy and girl, maybe about 5, running to the edge of the water and squealing when the cold salt water splashes their feet and running back up the beach again. The next time the little girl runs back up the beach, she runs all the way to a larger boy about my age wraps her arms around his leg. He swiftly lifts her up and holds her while she rests her head on his shoulder.

I smile at the cute moment I had just witnessed and lie back down on my towel.

"Cato, would you like to help me or are you just going to stand there." I hear someone call in the direction I was just looking

I sit straight up staring out into the ocean. "Oh no!" I moan quietly

Peeking a glance back over to the boy that I now know is Cato, I examine him more closely. Sure enough, it is him the same golden blonde hair, perfect abs and all. He runs back up to a deck and helps a girl with the same colored blonde hair as he and easily carries the beach chairs.

* * *

**Cato**

Out of the corner of my eye I catch Clove staring in our direction as I help Courtney bring out all the beach chairs and sand toys for Cam and Cassi. The look on her face is priceless, I guess she just figured out I live only a few houses down.

"Get a move on it Cato! There is another bag you need to bring." Courtney yells breaking me from my trance

"Sorry." I mumble

"Cato! Cato! Cato!" Cassi chants next to me holding her arms up

I lift her up again resting her on my hip.

"Whose that? Is she your friend? Do you know her? Is she new?" She rapidly asks me pointing in Cloves direction

"You've been hanging out with Courtney too much kiddo," I tickle her stomach and she squeals with laughter "I do know her actually. Her name is Clove. I guess you could say we are friends."

"She should come play with us! She is special to you isn't she?"

I put Cassi backdown on her feet and tell her to go play with Cam by the water. She gives me a sad look, but runs off to join her brother.

"She does have a point you know." Courtney chimes in behind me

I turn around and she is leaning on the railing of the deck facing me.

"Who Cassi? She is only 4, Court."

"Yes she is, but she knows her big brother and that Clove girl is special to you. I saw something different in you the day you came home from the bakery. You never looked like that with Glimmer." She crosses her arms

She's right I know she is, but I can't let her know that or she'll never let me live it down.

"Go invite her to come over before she decides to spend time with Marvel."

"How do you know about that?" I bark at her

"I heard you complaining to Gale when you came home, little brother. If you want to hide something from me, talk quieter." She winks at me and struts back into the kitchen

* * *

**Clove**

The warmth of the sun radiates through my body as I relax on my towel listening to music. A dark shadow creeps over one side of my body. I squint my eyes open and see Cato standing over me.

"What do you want Goliath?" I ask sitting up taking my ear phones out

He plops down on the sand next to me wrapping his arms around his legs.

Cato sheepishly rubs his hand on his neck "Umm...erm... You wanna come hang out with me and my siblings on the beach?"

"I don't know Goliath." My mind reeling with the day's events so far

"Come on Cloves, it'll be fun. We are having a BBQ and my little sister really wants to meet you." He places a hand on top on mine before he could interlace our fingers I pull my hand away

A flash of hurt spreads across his face, but he hides it quickly.

"Fine Goliath I'll come. But, only for your little sister." I smirk

"Fair enough." His blue eyes twinkling with happiness

He smiles at me and I instantly feel a blush creep across my face.

* * *

**A/N: Aww Cato as a big brother! I thought it was cute :) I love writing Courtney too that was fun! Part two is coming later! Hoped you liked this one! As usual questions, comments, concerns, suggestions welcome! See you later! xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**Clove**

"Wait- So who was the crazy British lady on your deck Cloves?" Cato asks trying to hold in his laughter

"First of all its Clove-"Cato raises his hand and cuts me off

"You call me Goliath. I think it's only fair I get a nickname for you, too." He beams triumphantly

"Fair enough." I try to mock his tone from earlier which backfires on me when he tickles my sides and I squeak with laughter

"Not fair Goliath," I slap him in the arm and he roars with laughter "The crazy British lady as you call her is my nanny from when I was little. I used to call her Mary Poppins because she had one of those never ending bags. Since my dad left to North Carolina to do the Panthers preseason game she's staying for a few days."

"Oh, is your mom away on business too?"

I know he is asking the question just out of sheer curiosity, but I just can't help wanting to cry when he mentions it. Luckily we are met by who I am assuming is his little sister and little brother before I even have to answer the question. The little girl runs back up to Cato and he lifts her up like before, Cato's brother runs up and stops in front of us holding a shuffle.

"Whose she?" the little boy in the blue and red swim trunks asks.

He looks like a mini version of Cato with the same blonde color hair, but he's eyes are a brilliant green color instead of Cato's intense blue.

"That's Clove, Cam. She's Cato's friend. Be nice." The little girl in Cato's arms scolded her brother.

Cato and I both laughed. It was cute to see how she tried to act so grown up for her age.

"That's Cam and this is Cassi. The best twin brother and sister you could ask for." Cato says motioning to his brother and sister

Cassi looked just like Cato with the same color blonde hair and blue eyes. Her long blonde hair hangs in two pigtails and she has a bright pink bikini on. You can tell how much she loves Cato, she won't let go of the grip around his neck when he tries to put her down. It's really cute.

Once he finally puts her down the two of them run back to the water and start splashing around.

"Sorry about them. They can be a bit of a handful." Cato chuckles

"I don't mind. They are really cute." I tell him

"That's my older sister Courtney up on the deck. Wave Court!"

The girl on the deck that I saw earlier waves to us "Hey girl! I'm Courtney!"

"Hi!" I wave back to her

"Come on Cloves. Let's join the two monkeys in the water." he says walking down near their beach chairs

I drop my towel and bag near their chair while Cato adjusts the draw string on his green and white swim trunks. Before I know it, he is gone from his spot next to me and splashing through the water diving head first into a wave. He pops his head back through the water gives me his signature crooked smile again.

"Bravo Goliath that was a perfect ten!" I tell him sarcastically

He stands up and gives me a grand bow to only be tackled by his brother into the water. I finally take my shorts off and make my way down to the edge of the water. Now I know why Cassi kept squealing when the water hit her feet. The water is freezing. I end up doing a kind of jumpy dance trying to avoid the water.

"Come on Cloves the water isn't going to hurt you!" Cato yells from the water smirking

"I don't know, Goliath! It's pretty cold."

Cassi comes and stands next to me, her big blue eyes beam up at me, "It's okay Clove. We can play here!" She slips her hand in mine

"I like your sister's idea!" I call to him pointing at his sister

"That's it," Cato starts to charge at us from the water "I didn't want to have to do this to you two!"

He sounds like he is mad, but I can see the hint of playfulness in his eyes.

"Run Cassi!" I push her and she runs giggling to the nearest beach chair

I try to stand my ground, but Cato lifts me up and swings me over his shoulder in one swift motion. I have a nice view of his back and I know the only place we are going is right into the water.

"Put me down!" I pound against his back repeatedly

"No chance of that Calloway!" He barks out a laugh

I feel the water break on my feet and the rest of my body is plunged into the water. When I resurface Cato's back is to me while he is trying to coax his sister to come into the water with us, I decide to sneak up behind him and jump on his back. That my lovely idea gets Cam and Cassi laughing hysterically, Cato himself is even surprised.

The four of us spend most of the afternoon diving into the waves, splashing each other, and swimming. Once Courtney calls Cam and Cassi out of the water to get ready for dinner, it's just me and Cato in the ocean. He decides to attack me from behind again and dunk me under water.

When I resurface I try to dunk him in return, but he grabs my wrists and twirls me around so my back is to his chest and he pulls me close to him wrapping his arms around my waist. I want to take his hands off of me because I know I shouldn't let this happen I don't need to get hurt again, but I can't ignore the fact of how right this feels. So, I lean my head back on his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay?" there is a trace of worry in his whisper

"Yeah. I'm fine." I tell him and realize the Texas sized smile on my face

"Good." he whispers breathlessly in my ear and it sends chills straight down my spine

"Look about today with Marvel-"slips out of my mouth before I can really think of what I just said

I whirl around to face him, keeping a hold of one of his hands under water. His face slumps at the mention of today's news, but it quickly changes to a smile.

"Shh... I don't want to know. You are here with me right now and as far as I'm concerned that's all that matters." He pulls me into him for a tight hug

Courtney calls us to come for dinner and we break apart smiling widely at each other. Cato, letting his true competitive side show, has the idea of having us see who can be the first one to make it to the beach chairs and a Calloway doesn't let a good challenge go I decide to accept it.

The chairs are getting closer; I pass Cato when he gets knocked over by a wave. I finally get out of the water and hear the Rhodes siblings chanting on who they want to win from the deck. I stop and take a quick breather which was a wrong decision because I am lifted back up into the air over Cato's shoulder again.

"Goliath!" I screech pounding his back again

"I never lose little Cloves." He laughs

He puts me down when we get on to the deck and wraps my towel around my shoulders.

"Actually we both won since you carried me to the finish line!" I wink at him and join Cassi at the dinner table

Dinner was a delicious mix of hamburgers, hot dogs, and salads. We all share a lot of laughs and watch Cato in astonishment as he easily inhales four hamburgers. Then Courtney yells at him for not leaving enough for the rest of us. Once we are finished I help Courtney bring the plates back into the house. When I come back outside Cato is leaning up against the railing of the deck looking out onto the beach while the sun sets.

"Hey," I saw cautiously placing a hand on his bare back

He swings one of his arms that were on the railing around my waist tucking me into his side.

"I love your family. They're great! Are your parents going to be home tonight?" I say looking up to him

He scoffs and his eyes are racked with anger "No, they live in an apartment in Manhattan. My father is the DA and too consumed with his job and my mother seemed to have all four of us just for fun, put us off on our nanny and spends her days shopping and at the spa with her friends. Courtney has been more of a mother to me then my own mother, I owe her a lot."

"Wow, I-I'm so sorry Cato." is all I can manage to get out

His grip on my waist gets momentarily tighter then relaxes.

"It's not me or Court I'm worried about. It's the twins that I worry about." His voice cracks at the end

He turns so his back is leaning on the railing and covers his face with his hands.

"Hey..." I try and coax his hands from his face "I think you are doing a great job with them. Cassi adores you, you have nothing to worry about."

He gives me a small smile and pulls me into a hug.

"What about you Cloves? Rich kids always have secrets." he says matter-of-factly

"Well, you know how you asked about my mom before?" _I can't believe I am about to do this _"She passed away two years ago from cancer." I can feel a lump forming in my throat and a single tear slips from my eye

He doesn't say anything; just the simple gesture of wiping away my few stray tears and grabbing my hand speaks volumes. He pulls us over to the chair-swing on the deck and we both sit down. I pull my knees up onto the chair and rest my head on his shoulder; Cato slings his arm around my waist again and pulls me into his side.

Shortly we are joined Cam and Cassi who have changed into their pajamas. Cassi climbs into my lap holding a doll and Cam sits next to Cato holding a stuffed football pillow.

"Do you like football like your brother Cam?" I ask him and he shakes his head shyly

"I heard Cato is really good at football. Do you think he is?" He shakes his head no

"No?! I think you have a lot to prove this season then, Goliath."

Cassi starts to chatter on about every detail about the doll that she is holding. Out of the corner of my eye I see Cam tug on Cato's shirt.

"Cato?" he whispers

"Yeah buddy?"

"She's pretty." Cam points to me

"Yeah, I think so too bud." He whispers not to quietly back to his brother

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Cato and I both freeze, I let out a nervous laugh and if I am not mistaken I actually see Cato blush.

"Alright! Time for your two to go to bed!" Cato announces standing up from the chair

"But Cato!" They both whine in unison

"I don't want to hear it! Let's go!"

Cam and Cassi both come and give me a hug goodnight and follow Cato into the house. I go in the house too and see if Courtney needs any help cleaning up still. When I go in I see she is just sitting on the couch watching a movie.

"Hey thanks again for dinner Courtney!"

"Anytime really!"

We sit there for a few moments in an awkward silence.

"You know, he never tells anyone about that." she speaks up

"About what?"

"Our parents. I don't even think he's told Marvel and they have been best friends since kindergarten." I sit there watching her wordlessly while she continues "I know he gives off that whole hard-ass party, obnoxious, player vibe with his friends, I'm not stupid I was your age too once. But, what you saw tonight was the real him, not that other crap."

_Why is she telling me this? Does she think I care? Does Cato even want me to be knowing this?_

"Courtney, what the hell?" Cato calls from upstairs clearly annoyed with what his sister just admitted to me

She laughs it off like nothing happened.

"I'm going to go outside again. Tell Cato that's where I am when he comes down." I tell her getting up from the couch

"Believe me girl I am pretty sure he already knows." she laughs again

I get outside and sit back on the chair-swing and lay my head on the back of the seat admiring the stars. They are shining very brightly like the most perfect diamonds known to man.

"Hi Mom," I speak up to the sky "A lot has happened recently. E is my coach again this year, even though I'm sure you already know that. I made a new best friend, her name is Jackie. She is the kind of friend you have always wanted me to have. Finn is here too don't worry he is still taking care of me. Then, there is Cato, no boy has ever treated me like he does, but I just don't want to get hurt again. What do you think mom?"

Suddenly a cool breeze blows passed me and a shiver ripples through my body. I wrap my arms around my bikini clad torso trying to keep myself warm.

"Hey." Cato appears wearing a sweatshirt and gym shorts and holding what looks like another sweatshirt

"How much of that did you hear?" I snap at him

"Whatever you wanted me to." He holds up his hands in defense

I give him a small smile in return.

"Here." He holds out his hand that has the other sweat shirt

"What's that?"

"It's one of my sweatshirts. You looked cold."

I take it from his hand and slip it over my head instantly feeling warmer. We sit together on the couch for a while not saying anything.

"My mom loved looking at the stars. Before she died, she told me whenever I was lonely or wanted to talk to her just to look up in the sky when I find a star and they will deliver the messages to her." I tell him quietly

_I_ _can't believe how easily I am telling him all this._

Cato turns to me gives me a smile and tilts his head back on the couch.

"Hi Mrs. Calloway, I'm Cato Rhodes. Nice to meet you. Your daughter is fitting in very nicely here if I do say so myself. Don't worry I'll take good care of her." He looks back into my eyes "Kind of like that?"

"Exactly." I let out a girlish giggle

My phone starts to ring in my back. I pull it out and see Finn's name flashing across the screen. Crap! It most be ten already.

I press the answer phone, "You know where the spare key is. Use it. I'll be home shortly." and hang up the phone

"Odair?"

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

Cato and I start to walk along the beach back to my house.

"That was really original you know, having your little brother flirt for you earlier." I say to Cato

"Y-you heard that?" his face goes beat red

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." my comment is laced with sarcasm

"Not fair cloves!" he tickles me in my sides again

Cato brushes his hand against mine while we are walking and I know that only means one thing. The next time he does it I gladly comply and let him interlace our finger together. I feel like live wires have been sent through my body and he seems to feel the same way judging by the size of the smile on his face.

When we get to on the back deck of my house the lights on my kitchen are on and I see Finn rummaging through the refrigerator and Annie sitting at the counter. Luckily Annie spots me and Cato before Finnick does. She starts to wildly wave her arms at Finnick to distract him from looking at us, and keeps moving him to the living room eventually pushing him down on the couch and sitting on top of him so he can't get up. She gives me a triumphant smile then turns her head back to Finnick who is wiggling underneath her.

"Thanks for today. I'm glad you said you wanted to come." he says with a shy smile creeping across his face

"I should be thanking you Goliath. I had a lot of fun."

He quickly leans down and presses his lips against my cheek and puts his forehead on mine. Every part of my insides are screaming with joy right now.

"Your welcome Cloves. I'll see you soon. Keep the sweatshirt it looks better on you." His blue eyes have an extra sparkle to them as he says that

Then he's gone backdown the deck stairs and running across the beach.

I slowly open the back door enter into the kitchen and hear Finnick arguing with Annie to get her bony butt off of his stomach.

Some things never change, but some things change for the better.

* * *

**A/N: YAYY! Thank you all again for the reviews last chapter and I am glad you all like the surprise of Cato living only a few doors down from Clove and Cato being a big brother! :) I hope you all like this chapter too! This one is probably my favorite by far! Comments, questions, suggestions, concerns welcome!**

**xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** **Make sure to read the Authors Note at the end! Important information to read there! **

**Make sure to read the Authors Note at the end! Important information to read there! **

**Make sure to read the Authors Note at the end! Important information to read there!**

* * *

**Clove**

_The bright sun blinds me slightly even with my eyes closed, I sit up quickly and raise my hand shielding my eyes so they can adjust. I turn and see Cato lying in the meadow next to me he gives me a worried look. I give him a small smile of reassurance and lay my head backdown on his chest again. I pick up another one of the delicate purple flowers that are perfectly placed around the meadow that we are lying in. Cato starts to brush my hair off my forehead and twirl it around his finger._

_We just lie there for a while not talking, just enjoying each other's company. Cato takes the flower in my hand and slips it behind my ear. He takes my small hand in his large one and intertwines them together stroking his thumb on the back of my hand._

_"Clove?" he asks_

_"Yeah." I reply almost breathlessly_

_"I am glad you finally said yes. You don't know how much it means to me, babe."_

_I can just sense the large smile that has crept across his face._

_"I'm glad too, Cato." I tell him back_

_He starts to sit up sliding my head down to his lap. I feel Cato's lips lightly brush against my forehead._

_"I love you." He whispers_

_I open my eyes to tell him the same. The eyes I see staring down at me are not the all too familiar intense blue ones, but rather the big hazel eyes of Marvel Diamond._

_"Marvel!" I shriek spinning to my knees "What happened to Cato?"_

_"What are you talking about? I have been here the whole time."_

_I twist my head from side-to-side checking for any sign of Cato in the distance._

_"Clove are you okay?" He asks concerned placing a hand on my shoulder_

_"Something freaky is going on." I mumble_

_I close my eyes and shake my head trying to get a clear mind to enjoy this moment with Marvel instead. I guess. When I open my eyes again Marvel isn't there anymore. Instead I am greeted by the dark beady eyes of whom used to be my boyfriend. _

_Ryder Kensington._

_I gulp swallowing the lump in my throat "W-what are you doing here?"_

_His lips form into an evil smile._

_"Didn't you miss me babe?" His emphasis on the last word is a mocking tone of how Cato said it_

_I get up on my feet and start to walk slowly away from him, he starts to follow me towards the line of trees on the outline of the meadow._

_"I told you Ryder, I don't want to talk to you. We are done. DONE!" I scream at him_

_"Aww Come on Clove. Don't be like that. Plus we aren't done until I say we are done!"_

_He backs me up against the tree with a loud thump and I let out a small shriek._

_"Shut up!" He growls at me, grabbing my wrist with his giant hand_

_I am frozen in my spot against the tree, staring into his evil eyes. His grip on my wrist starts to tighten and I hiss in pain._

_"Ryder Stop!" I plea with him_

_He just lets out an evil laugh and starts to lean in to kiss me like how he kissed Glimmer that day at the bakery._

_"Finnick help me!" I wail_

_"Don't let him win Clove! We never go down without a fight." His calm voice reassures me in my head_

_I resort to the last option I can think up at this moment and I slam my head right into his. We both scream in pain and I collapse against a tree tucking my head into my knees, trying to handle the pain._

_"You stupid girl!" Ryder roars rolling on the ground in pain_

_"Clove!" I hear someone call in the distance_

_Clove...Clove..._Clove!

My eye's fly open and I see Marvel shaking me awake looking as scared as I feel. I rip my sweatshirt hood off of my head and reach my arms tight around Marvels neck.

"Are you alright?" He asks rubbing my back trying to calm me down

"That was the worst dream ever," I squeeze my eyes shut tight and open them again to make sure I am truly awake "How did you know I was up here?"

"Odair told me. When I came up here you kept moaning and saying Kensington's name and yelling 'Get away from me!' Did he hurt you in your dream Clove?"

I pull away from Marvel and examine the all to familiar walls of Finn's room and remember we were all supposed to go swimming today, that's why Marvel was here.

"I-I guess you could say he did. I was lying in a meadow and Cato was there, then he turned into you and you turned into Ryder. Ryder had me backed up against a tree with an evil look in his eye and wouldn't let me go. So, I decided to head butt him and we both screamed in pain. Then, you woke me up." I tell him rubbing my forehead, I swear I could feel the pain from the slam in my head

"I guess I came in just enough time then," He wiggles his eyebrows at me "Odair tells me you're good at Madden Football. He just got the new version wanna play?"

"If you plan on getting your ass whipped by a girl. Then, sure I'll be glad to play." I put on my game face and walk over to the TV at the end of Finns bed to set up the game.

"Oh and Clove?"

"Yeah?"

"You know no one ever wins with a head butt."

"Shut up Diamond." I shove him in the chest and he falls back onto the bed

* * *

**Cato**

"Holy Shit! Will you two stop arguing already!" Gale moans rubbing both sides of his temple

"What the hell is going on? I have been here for less than five minutes and already have a headache." I remark in agreement with Gale

I make my way to the empty chair next to Gale sitting near the pool. Gale has now put on his black wayfarers laid back on his recliner trying to drown out Finnick and Jackie's argument. Peeta has his ear buds in already drowning out the argument, Katniss and Madge are floating on tubes in the pool and are watching intently as Jackie waves her arms around wildly.

"Seriously," I nudge Gale in the shoulder "What is going on?"

"Jackie wants to have another party tonight. For some reason Odair is throwing a hissy fit saying we already had a start of the year party when he had it. I say just let her have the party already." Gale says

"Dude stop being a wuss and let her have a party! Nobody is complaining about having another party!" I yell to the two of them bickering

Jackie turns around and actually gives me a smile then faces Finn again "See! You're the only one that is having a problem with this. I am having a party!"

"Uhh, fine!" Finnick moans

"Yay!" Jackie jumps up and down clapping her hands

"You were going to have it anyway weren't you?"

"They are setting up for it right now!"

She gives Finnick a satisfied smile and slips into the pool to join Katniss and Madge.

The one think about Jackie is as hard as you may try to fight her she always wins. One way or another she always does. So you're better off agreeing with her and moving on.

I go to walk into Odair's house to change into my bathing suit and I see Jackie swim over to the side of the pool closest to me.

"Hey Cato," she calls to me "She's inside."

"Who?" I say before really thinking through my answer

_Clove you idiot. That's who. Way to keep up._

"Don't act stupid. I know you're looking for her. She's upstairs in Finnick's room." with that she disappears underwater

_Am I really that obvious that I want this girl. It's not my fault I find her so damn intriguing._

I open the sliding glass door and start to make my way to Odair's room to go get changed. There is some yelling coming from upstairs and I stop to listen in.

"Damn you Diamond! I was five yards from the end zone!" A girl's voice yells from up stairs

_Clove...and Marvel?_

"Sorry Calloway! It was just too good of a tackle to miss." Marvel replies laughing

I take the steps two at a time taking extra care not to make any noise and stop right outside of the door frame listening to their conversation.

"3...2...1 TOUCHDOWN! And, you my friend just got your ass whipped by a girl at Madden football!" Clove says triumphantly

"Clove what's that?" Marvels tone changes rapidly to concern

"What's what?"

"Your sweatshirt."

"Oh it's Cato's. He let me borrow it. It's really comfortable so I've worn it a lot."

_She still wears the sweatshirt I gave her? That's a good sign. _I smirk confidently

"That's not just any sweatshirt," he takes a brief pause "By the look on your face no one has explained it to you."

"Clearly no one has Diamond. Feel free to enlighten me." she says sarcastically

I can imagine the exact sarcastic twinkle her eyes get as she says that.

"That's the state championship sweatshirt from our sophomore year. It was a huge win for the school and the sweatshirt became the prized possession of every member on the team. Until the senior quarterback from that year decided to give it his girlfriend, then it became a kind of tradition for the football players to give that specific sweatshirt to one special girl." Marvel says

_Damn it! He caught on. I was really hoping no one would notice._

"Finn was on that team though. Why haven't I seen Annie with his?"

"Hell if I know! He's probably still attached to it."

They both laugh then its silent again.

"Marvel don't look at me like that. You both know my situation right now."

"I know, sorry. What are you doing?"

"Taking off this sweatshirt, I am really hot and the story you told me is really freaking me out with the whole sweatshirt thing. I'll be right back."

_Way to go idiot! You always take things one step further then it needs to be._

I am not going to lie it kinda hurt to know she took the sweatshirt off because of the story. I hear her even footsteps getting closer to the door, but my feet are glued to the floor and can't move.

"Holy crap!" Clove squeals jumping backwards "I didn't know you were here, Goliath."

I give her a half smile.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asks looking concerned

I don't respond, she stares at me for a few seconds and then realizes that I must have heard the conversation they just had.

"How much of that did you hear?" She whispers to me

"Enough," I tell her bluntly "You two seem to be enjoying yourself. I don't want to interrupt."

I push passed her and head back downstairs not bothering to get changed.

"Shit!" we both moan and slam our fists against the wall in unison

_That was strange._

I sit at the bottom of the wall holding my head in my hands. Jackie walks by me looking from upstairs to me and back upstairs, she must have witnessed the strange moment we just had.

"Clove?" she calls upstairs

"What Jackie?"

"Come on! We got to get to my house to get ready. Annie, Katniss and Madge are meeting us there soon."

"You," I look up and see Jackie pointing at me "Get there at seven with the rest of the goon squad. Wear something nice."

Clove jumps down the stairs and meets Jackie at the end still holding tightly onto my sweatshirt. She turns and looks at me starts to say something, but stops and leaves with Jackie out the front door.

I am not looking forward to this party.

* * *

**A/N: READ ME! READ ME! READ ME! READ MEE! **

**First of all I want to thank you all again for the amazing reviews for last chapter! They truly mean the world to me :) I will reply to all the reviews later, and do the anon shout outs next chapter!**

**Now on to the important stuff, I unfortunately start school on Wednesday! :( BOO! so needless to say I won't have a lot of time to update during the week. BUT! I am going to tell you for sure I will update either on Fridays or Saturdays. Again, Those days are definite days you can count on an update! :D**

**Second, since I am getting close to 100 reviews I thought I would do something special for all of you! I think right now, once I get 100 reviews I am going to post a THG trivia question or two and whoever is the first to answer them correctly can help me with something with the story! Thoughts?**

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter! As usual comments, questions, concerns, suggestions welcome! :)**

**xoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: YAYY Happy Friday! and Happy Update day! Thanks again for all the reviews for last chapter :) Don't forget to look for the anon shout outs at the bottom! Happy reading!**

* * *

**Clove**

Jackie doesn't stop talking the whole ride back to her house. I tune her out half way to her house replaying what happened just a short time ago; my nightmare, Cato's face when I saw him in the hallway, Marvels story, and that really weird moment Cato and I both had after he left down the stairs.

I flip Cato's grey sweatshirt over in my hand and trace the black iron on letters that spell out his last name while imagining the way his blue eyes shined the night he walked me back to my house.

"Tonight is not going to be an easy night." I murmur quietly

"What?" Jackie asks as she smoothly pulls into her driveway

"Nothing." I tell her plastering a fake smile on my face

Before I know it, Jackie opens my door and pulls me out of her car, "Come on! We got to get ready!" she chirps

Jackie's house is a huge two story white house with dark blue shutters a wrap around porch on the first floor and a deck off the second floor on the back of the house. Her mother is a doctor and her dad is an engineer, which easily explains the grandeur of the house.

We walk inside the house and I marvel at the openness of the main floor. In one room there is a long table filled with sandwiches and two coolers filled with drinks. In the other room there is a large couch similar to the one that I saw at Peeta's house and a large TV mounted on the wall. Jackie yanks me up the grand staircase with her and locks us both in her room.

"Shower! Now!" she orders me and shoves me in the bathroom

I do as she says and strip off my bathing suit and shorts then turn on the shower, letting the hot water relax my body. Once the last bit of shampoo as disappeared down the drain I get out and wrap my body tight in the thick white towel from the counter.

"Clove! Clove!" Jackie pounds on the door

She opens the door a crack and shoves a dress in my direction "Put this dress on!"

I moan not in the mood to look pretty right now.

"Don't give me sas missy!" She scolds me in her motherly voice

I close my eyes and slip the dress over my head and let out a slight gasp. Jackie didn't even have to try multiple dresses on me, it's like she has some fashion sixth sense.

She chose a form fitting, one shouldered, pale blue dress for me and the strap is covered in rhinestones. I walk out and she squeals with excitement, her red curls bouncing around.

Jackie is now wearing a forest green, strapless, baby doll dress with a sweetheart neckline and a strip of rhinestones lining the neckline. Her red hair falls in perfect curls around her face.

I scrunch my eyebrows at her, "How long was I in the shower for?"

"Long enough for me to take a shower down the hall and get dressed. Now come over here and let me do your hair!"

She makes me sit on a stool in front of her vanity and has me close my eyes until she is done with my hair and makeup.

"Did you see Marvel at all today?" she asks

"Yeah we were up in Finn's room playing video games."

"Oh," she tries hard to hide the disappointment in her voice "Did he say anything about me?"

"No?" my answer comes out as more as a question

I slightly open one of my eyes to peek at her for asking such an odd question. She spots me looking at her and wacks me lightly on the back of the head with a hair brush. But, I am able to look at her quick enough to see a different look on her face.

_She likes Marvel!_ I smile happily to myself

_But what about Thresh. And, Marvel likes me! Oh shit!_

"And...We are...Done! Open your eyes!" Jackie exclaims

Jackie pulls me onto my feet and I open my eyes to look at myself in the mirror. I don't even recognize the person in front of me, Jackie is a hair and make-up magician. My hair is now in lose curls similar to Jackie's, and she did a low-key smoky eye shadow look and light pink lipgloss.

"Wow, Jackie I-I..."

"You're welcome!" She cuts me off giving me a hug

Our best friend moment is cut off by the ringing of the doorbell. Jackie hands me a pair of strappy silver heels that match hers and we both make our way down the stairs.

I open the door to Katniss, Madge and Annie all excitedly standing on the other side. We all share hugs as they walk into Jackie's house.

Katniss has on a yellow dress made out of a gauzy material and her hair is in waves around her face. Madge is wearing a dress similar to Jackie's, but in pink instead and the top part is covered in rhinestones and she has a large rhinestone clip in her hair. I swear that girl is a real life Elle Woods with the amount of pink I have seen her in. Annie is wearing a fitted, strapless, sea green dress and her brown curls pulled into a low side pony tail with a sparkling silver flower.

Jackie's house starts to fill up quickly with kids in our grade, but our guy friends haven't showed up yet. I can tell it's starting to really annoy Jackie. Finally, an hour later from when Jackie told them to come they show up.

Finnick scoops me up in a hug first before going over to give Annie a quick peck on the lips. Marvel appears next to me wearing a dark grey and white plaid button up and black pants and gives me a hug.

Marvel stops in his tracks and I see his eyes go wide. Following his gaze I see he has locked eyes with Jackie. Her face has gone almost as red as her hair. But, the two of them are smiling from ear to ear.

_This whole situation has gotten fixed before it has gotten any worse._

I walk into the kitchen with Katniss and see Cato across the room with some of the other football players. He is wearing a dark blue button up with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of charcoal grey dress pants.

A perky blonde in a purple dress shows up next to him and starts obviously flirting with him. He gives her a cocky smile and his eyes have a mischievous twinkle.

_Who the hell is that chick?_

"Hey Katniss, who's the girl in the purple dress?" I whisper, point in Cato's direction

"That, is Delly Cartwright. She's a Glimmer wannabe. She and Madge used to be best friends until Delly became a worst slut than Glimmer." Katniss whispers back to me

_Typical. Jackie was right about Cato he moves right onto the next girl when he doesn't get what he wants, why didn't I listen to her to begin with?_

"Clove!" Finnick yells from somewhere in the house

"Finn?" I yell back, craning my neck as best as I can to look for him

I spot him with Annie, and Jackie, where the football team is, waving for me to join them. Finnick wraps his arm around me giving me a hug.

"Clove this is Connor Preston, he's the other wide receiver on the football team!" Finnick introduces me to boy identical to his height and build, big brown eyes, and dirty blonde hair.

Connor is cute, I do admit that, but there is something about the way is hair sticks up that reminds me of Cato. It reminds me about the day at the beach after we got out of the ocean and the way his hair dried stuck up all over the place from the ocean water and how his golden blonde hair perfectly matched with his icy blue eyes.

_That is it I need to go talk to him!_

"It's really nice to meet you Connor. Sorry guys, but I really need to take care of something." I say leaving them to find Cato, who has now disappeared from behind the couch

"What do you think you're doing? Connor is perfect for you, he is a sweetheart." Jackie says grabbing my arm to stop me from leaving

"Jackie, not now!"

I bump into Gale and Madge in the hallway and ask them if they knew where Cato went. They direct me to some room on the second floor and, as smoothly as I can, I make my way up the stairs in my heels to the room to talk to Cato. I stop right before the door, take a deep breath, close my eyes, and walk inside.

"Cato, look I want to talk about today..." I open my eyes and freeze looking at the scene in front of me

_Why the hell does this always happen to me?_

Cato and Delly have their hands all over each other and are kissing on the couch in front of me. I feel a lump start to rise in my throat, I don't know if I want to gag or start to cry. The volume of the music is so loud they don't seem to notice I am even there so I quietly leave the room and push passed everyone and go into Jackie's backyard.

There is a soccer ball lying in the grass, I instinctively launch the ball against the fence and watch it roll back to my feet. I repeat the process again and again trying to release some anger.

"Clove, What happened?" Finnick appears digging his hands in his pockets

"I don't want to talk about it." I say launching the ball against the fence again

"I'm not stupid CC. I know something has been going on with you and Cato. What did he do to you? I swear if he hurt you, I'll beat the living shit out of him." the anger is starting to rise in his voice

"No, don't Finn."

"Why not?" he angrily retorts crossing his arms

"Unless you want me to tell your mom how I almost became Aunt Clove because of Annie's little pregnancy scare two months ago." I stop and face him crossing my arms

I know it's a low blow, I promised him I would never say anything about that. I can see the anger that is burning in Finnicks eyes, I have never seen him so mad. Tears start prickling at my eyes, I can't handle all these emotions right now.

"You. Wouldn't. Dare." each word seethes with anger

"Try me Finnick." my voice cracks at the end

I let out one final blow on the soccer ball and turn my back to Finn while the tears cascade down my face in body racking sobs.

"I-I'm sorry, Finnick." I turn to face him now

Through my tear infested eyes I can barely make out how the features on Finnick's face have softened from his angry scowl. He gives me a sad smile and comes over to hug me. He hates seeing his baby sister cry, that's why I never do it in front of him. Those times that I do though, it's usually for good reason.

"You k-know I never would d-do that right?" I mumble to him before letting some tears escape again

"I know CC," he rests his chin on my head "Shhh...Please stop crying, you know I don't like seeing you cry. You really like Cato don't you?"

"N-No I d-don't."

"Au contraire my dear sister. You forget how well I know you, I see how you look at him and better yet I see how he looks at you. You both are crazy about each other, but you're both too stubborn to do anything about it."

"I caught him making out with D-Delly C-Cartwright upstairs. He doesn't seem to like me that much. Why does this always h-happen to me Finn?" The last round of sobs escape from the back of my throat

"That asshole," I hear him mutter "I don't know, Clove. I really don't know. Come inside hang out with me, Jackie, and Annie. We are way cooler than Cato anyway."

"I'll come in a few minutes. I just need some time first to catch my breath and regroup. Go inside Annie is probably looking for you." He gives me a really tight hug and a quick kiss on top of my head and heads back inside.

I pace around the back patio catching my breath and trying to stop the tears. I tilt my head back and get a view of the gorgeous night sky. The stars are out again tonight I smile and do the one thing that will for sure make me happy.

"Hi Mom," I mumble "I'm sure you've seen how the night has gone so far. Finnick was there for me as usual, he's too good of a friend for me. But, I don't know where I'd be without him. Keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the night not to be as awful. I miss you every day and so does Dad. I love you, Mom."

The sound of hands clapping erupt in the darkness. I freeze in my spot not knowing what is going to come out of the darkness.

"Bravo babe bravo!"

Right away I know the owner of the voice and it sends chills through my body.

"What the hell do you want Ryder?"

Ryder appears from the dark still clapping his hands.

"Aw come on don't be like that babe! That was quite a good show you put on there."

"Don't you dare call me that again! I told you I never wanted to see you again."

He has the same beady eyes and evil smile I saw in my dream. For the first time I am actually scared to be with him.

"W-What are you doing here?" I ask him

"Glimmer said there was a party and I thought I should check it out."

"First of all I haven't seen Glimmer all night. Second you don't go to our school so get out!"

"Fine I lied I wanted to spend more time with my beautiful girlfriend."

He starts walking towards me and backs me up against the house. My hands are shaking, but I try to keep my cool.

I give him my best wicked laugh I can muster, "Have you completely lost it, you moron. We are done! Done!" I yell in his face

"We're not done until I say we're done!" He growls back, grabbing my small wrist

He consistently tightens his grip on my wrist and I hiss in pain.

"Ryder please stop!" I half plead/ half yell in hopes someone will come and find us

"Shut up!" growls at me

That's when it hit me, this is just like my dream from earlier. But, there is no way in hell I am going to smash our heads together any time soon.

I open my mouth and start to yell Finnick's name, but Ryder slaps his hand over my mouth.

"Yelling isn't going to help you now!" He gives an evil laugh

He tightens his grip on my arm and I wiggle in pain trying to get loose from his grip.

_Think Clove Think. You need to get out of this._

I bite down on his hand that is covering my mouth just enough so no blood was drawn.

"You stupid bitch!" he yells shaking his hand that I just bit

I start to wiggle again in his grip to try to get free, but he gets a grip on my other shoulder. Between my constant movement and Ryder's sudden anger problem, he slams me against the side of the house. I scream in pain and fall to the ground.

"Hey asshole! If you have a problem take it up with me not her." I hear someone yell at rider.

I look up in the direction the voice came from and see the silhouette of guy on the porch.

"Cato?" I manage to mutter out in the pain

Then everything goes black.

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**A/N: OHHH CLIFFY! Thoughts?**

**I'll post the rest later! :)**

**I'm not totally sure how I'm feeling about this chapter so I really hope you guys like it. :) **

**I do have to say though I love the exchange between Finnick and Clove.**

**I am glad I got a lot of positive responses about the 100 review trivia thing lol :) Thanks again for reading! xoxo**

**Shout outs:**

**Ch. 7**

Guest- Wow! Thank you soo much for the review it means so much. and I am sure you can write just as fabulously! I thought Cato's little brother was cute too! lol :)

SoccerSuperstar- Thank you soo much! :)

emma- wow that's huge! I am glad you like it so much!

hi- hope your still liking the story! :)

BFF- awww I am so glad! :) I am glad you like it!

RealMcCoy16- Thanks so much for all your reviews! :) I am glad you have been there from the start and keep reading.

Anon- Thank you soo much! :)

Guest- Thank you so much! I hope I didn't disappoint you too much with the next chapter! Soon my dear soon! :)

**CH. 8**

Emma- I hope your liking the party chapter so far! Thanks again for the reviews! :)

RealMcCoy16- WOW! I am so glad that you think that! It helps me keep wanting to write for you all:)

Rosalie- Wow! You are very very verrryy Welcome! :) I am so glad that it can help you write your stories! I never thought my writing would mean so much! Thank YOU for reading! I will definitely continue :)

Stockhorse-that means so much! thank you, thank you! :) I am glad that you are reading my story! :)

Please- I don't know if I can! But, definitely check on friday/saturday! Thanks for reading :)

CATOISMYLIFEP- Thank you so much darling! :D It means so much! hope you like the update!

Dying- Please don't die! I don't want my readers dying! :) Here is an update! I hope you like it!

**Guest- Thank you for telling me that chapter 9 didn't post! :) sorry for the glitch everyone!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Yayy! Happy one hundred reviews! Thank you all so much for the reviews it truly means more then you know! I am beyond excited to always have you reading my story! :)**

**Just a note this whole chapter is in Clove's POV. I am putting the lines in there to indicate a time lapse. You'll get it hopefully after you read it! lol any questions let me know! Enjoy!**

* * *

** Clove**

I am woken up by the low growls of Finnick and Cato arguing with each other. My head is throbbing too much to even open my eyes and my wrist is aching, but cold all at the same time. An ice pack is the only explanation. I just lie there listening to their conversation.

"Dammit Odair! I want to see her!" Cato demands

"Hmm...let me think...not a chance Rhodes!"

"Why the hell not?" Cato's anger is starting to rise now

"Because the last time I checked you're the last person she wants to talk to right now." Finnick retorts

A small moan escapes my lips because of the amount of pain in my head. They both go silent and I am sure stopped to look at me.

"What the hell happened?" Cato says in a hushed tone, but I only seem to catch the amount of worry that he is hiding when he says that

"I don't know. All we got out of Marvel was Ryder was in the backyard and had Clove pinned up against the house then, he and Ryder got into a fight and now we are here. Clove blacked out and Marvel looks to have had the crap beat out of him, but he seems alright." Finn tells him

_Wait Marvel was the one who I saw before I passed out? I guess Cato didn't keep his promise like he said._

I hear the clicking of heels on the floor, they get closer and stop. Finnick let's out an annoyed moan.

"Cato I have been waiting downstairs forever. Why are you up here bothering with her she's... she's weird." Delly whines stomping her heels on the ground

"Delly, do us all a favor and shut up!" Finnink remarks

She lets out a loud huff and stamps her foot on the ground. I laugh internally at Finnick's comment, but wince when the sound of Delly's heels make the pain worse in my head.

"I just don't understand why you won't let me see her." Cato mumbles, the pain really visible in his voice

"Dude, listen to me," Finnick takes on a calm tone for the first time "I honestly don't understand why your so concerned about a girl you just met a few weeks ago, hardly know, who doesn't want to talk to you and not, Marvel, who has been your best friend since kindergarten."

_Okay, I feel a pang of anger with what he just said. But, I know he is just trying to make a point. Maybe now is time to make my alertness known._

"Finn?" I croak out through my dry throat

"Clove." they both reply in unison

"Clove what happened? Are you okay? How are you feeling? Do you..."

"Shhhh...head...hurts stop talking so loud." I cut Finnick off from his rapid question asking

I flutter my eyes open letting them adjust to the light of the room that I am in. I am lying down on one side of a giant L shaped couch with my head propped on a pillow and Marvel is sleeping on the other side with an ice pack on his head. From my vantage point I see the walls of the room are lined with bookshelves and Cato is staring at me from a large doorway and Finn is leaning over the top of the couch.

"Where am I?" I ask looking up at Finn

"Jackie's Dad's office. How are you feeling?"

"What do you think genius? My psycho ex-boyfriend felt the need to beat me up tonight."

Finnick lets out a chuckle and moves to come sit next to me, "Typical, you blacked out and have a badly bruised wrist, but you still haven't lost your sarcasm."

"Or I have been hanging out with Jackie way too much." I remark trying my best to smile

He sits next to me and I feel the couch cushion dip underneath my body, he lifts the ice pack on my wrist and immediately puts it backdown.

"I would just leave that there." He lightly pats it

"Fair enough."

Cato clears his throat and we both turn our heads "Umm...Clove?"

"What do you want?" I snap at him

"Are you okay?" He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck with his hand

_I have noticed that this has become a nervous twitch of his._

"I'm fine. You two seemed to have been enjoying yourself all night. I wouldn't want to interrupt anything. You know because I'm weird and all." I direct the last part towards Delly so she knows I heard what she said before

Cato's face changes to anger very quickly when he realized I used his own words against him from earlier today.

"Come on Delly." He grabs her arm and they disappear from sight

I let out a long sigh sinking back into my pillow.

"He broke a promise you know." I whisper trying to hold back tears

"Who Cato?"

"Yeah, the day we were all at Peeta's bakery and Ryder was there, too. I met Cato outside when I ran out of the bakery and he promised to do anything in his power to protect me from Ryder. I guess that was a lie." I close my eyes trying to get control of the pain that is rushing through my head again.

"I'm sorry CC." Finnick gently rubs my arm trying to sooth me

"Oh good you're up!" Jackie chirps, shoving a bottle of water and pills in my direction "Take these. It will help with the headache, I promise."

"Ahh, nurse Jackie has arrived." Finnick jokes

"Thanks girl I hope this works quickly. How's Marvel?" I ask Jackie

"He's pretty banged up. A lot of bruises and a couple of cuts. He should be fine though I told him to sleep. I think you need to also."She tells me

"That's a good idea. Here is your cell phone text me if you need anything. We will be downstairs with everyone else." Finn gets up and places my cell phone on the table next to me.

* * *

"Clove! Clove!" Someone whispers shaking my foot

I take my uninjured hand and rub my eyes opening them up to be greeted by Marvel sitting at my feet. He has a dark purple and blue spot forming under his right eye, a good sized cut on his forehead and he is holding an ice pack to his head still.

"Marvel! Look at your face, I'm so sorry that happened to you. It's all my fault, I feel so awful!" I tell him

"Clove! Clove calm down its okay, really! The bruises will go away. Especially the way Jackie has been fussing over me all night. But, the most important thing is you didn't get hurt more than you needed to. In case you were wondering I gave Ryder a good beating myself. I don't think he will be bothering you any time soon." He gives me a proud smile, then scrunches his face in pain

"Thanks Marvel. I still feel awful about everything though." He waves it off as to say don't worry about it and I give me a mischievous smile

"What?" he asks

"You mentioned Jackie has been fussing over you all night..." I smile widely at him

"Don't Clove!" He says laughing

"Aww come on Marvel! I saw how you looked at her when you walked in tonight. Would it help if I told you she felt the same way too."

That stops him briefly in his tracks as he starts to move back to his side of the couch.

"It's nothing, Clove really we are just friends." He says it like he is trying to convince himself

"Do you need me to pin you up against the wall to try to convince you, Diamond?" I say referring to when he pinned me against the lockers at school

"Get some rest Calloway, so I can beat your ass at Madden tomorrow." he laughs laying down on the couch

"Suit yourself Diamond."

Surprisingly I am able to fall asleep again for the amount of time that I have slept tonight.

* * *

I wake up later on and see through my sleepy eyes Annie and Finnick sitting together in the corner of L shaped couch. Annie is curled up against Finnick's torso with her head wresting on his chest, Finn's head is leaning on the back of the couch with his arms wrapped around Annie and they are both fast asleep. I can't help, but smile at the two of them together like that.

On the other side of the couch Jackie is fussing over Marvel, trying to repair his cuts and what not. She is now stripped of her green dress and is wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a red t-shirt, and her hair is pulled back into a loose pony tail.

"Marvel stopping moving! I am trying to fix the cut on your forehead!" She whispers urgently to him

Marvel grabs one of Jackie's and intertwines it with his own and I watch as identical smiles spread on both of their faces.

"Jackie, I can't count how many times you have tried to fix this cut tonight. I don't think it can be fixed anymore. Now please get some sleep." He says trying to Calm her down

Marvel cradles the back of Jackie's neck with his hand, pulls Jackie's head down to him and kisses her on the forehead. She lets out a small giggle. Marvel moves on to his side to allow extra room for Jackie. She curls up on her side next to and he wraps one arm around her waist.

Marvel shoots me a smile as to say 'You were right, Calloway.' and I give him a triumphant smile back.

Looking at Annie and Finn together and Marvel and Jackie together I am truly happy for all of them.

Tonight may not have turned out as bad as I thought.

* * *

**A/N: Sooooooo thoughts?**

**I hope your all not too mad about the whole who saved Clove thing. You'll forgive me in a couple chapters I'm sure :D**

**I am going to do the whole 100 question trivia thing next chapter! so its coming soon.**

**Comments, questions, concerns, suggestions welcome! :) xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Surprise! I know it's Monday and I said I wouldn't be updating until the weekend but I got this idea late last night and had to include it! I hope you like it! Make sure to check out the POV for this chapter!**

**And as originally planned in my head the trivia questions will come on friday! I am sooo sorry I keep pushing them back! I just want to have enough time to be able to set a side to figure out that whole thing! :) Thank you all again for all the lovely reviews for last chapter!**

* * *

** Courtney**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Yay! My popcorn is ready!"

I run over to the microwave, yank the door open and grab the steaming hot bag to empty it into the big blue bowl on the counter. The opening credits of _Bring it On _start playing in the living room, I run back to the couch to start watching. Since Cato is out and the twins are already asleep I decided to have a movie night by myself.

Once my favorite part of the movie comes on I hear the front door slam shut and my brothers large feet start bounding up the stairs.

_Ughhhh here we go._

"Hey!" I yell up to him, from the bottom of the stairs

He doesn't respond.

I watch as he disappears through his bedroom door and slams that shut, too.

"Is he really going to make me do this?" I groan inwardly

I bound up the stairs after him and go to open his door. I wiggle the door handle and it doesn't budge.

_Dammit he locked it._

"Cato! Open this door right now!" I bang loudly on the door

After a few minutes of repeated knocking, he finally opens the door and walks back to sit on his bed. He has a white t-shirt and blue gym shorts on now and he is resting his elbows on his legs just staring at the floor.

_What the hell happened?_

"What Courtney?" He barks

"Umm...How was the party?" I ask as casually as I can

"Fine." He says looking up at me

If looks could kill I would already be dead. The one thing to know about my brother is his eyes are always a dead give away to how he is feeling and only a few people know that, myself included. Right now his eyes are such a piercing blue that I can see an angry fire dancing behind them, but his face is a mix of anger and guilt.

"Cato," I say as calmly as I can "What happened at the party?"

"Nothing. It was perfectly fine, I had the time of my life." He sarcastically snarls at me

"Well that guilty look on your face says another thing. Was Clove there?"

He gets up from his bed and storms at me, stopping right in front of me.

"Yeah so what if she was there. It's not like she wants anything to do with me anyway."

It's a sad thing when you have to look up to your little brother because he towers over you by a good four or five inches. And, right now I am looking up into his firey blue eyes and watching the anger just ooze off of every pore of his being. He thinks because he is bigger than me he can try and scare me into leaving him alone.

"Look," I poke him in the chest "This whole macho man thing might work with the other kids in school. But, it's not working with me. You don't scare me Cato! You will always be my little brother and no matter how much you want me to leave right now, I'm not going to."

"You have no clue what the hell happened tonight!"

"You're right I don't and by the sounds of it I don't want to know. Can I take a guess though?"

"Suit yourself." he says throwing up his hands

"Something happened with Marvel and Clove, in a fit of anger you decided to do something stupid, which your regretting now. Whatever stupid thing you decided to do it got between you and Clove and she doesn't want to talk to you right now."

"Good guess." He snaps

He abruptly turns away from me and slams his dresser drawer shut. I grab his wrist before he can do anything else stupid.

"The more you keep slamming stuff, it's not going to change what you did. And you're going to wake Cam and Cassi." I hiss at him

His eyes soften slightly and he sits back on his bed again. I sit next to him and wrap my arm around his broad shoulders the best I can.

"I screwed up, Court. I screwed up big time!" He sighs leaning his head against my shoulder

"Can I say something?" I ask

"That hasn't stopped you before."

"I think you are so frustrated by the fact that it has taken you longer then what you want to get Clove as your girlfriend. Any other girl falls at your feet and will do whatever you want them to. You have to fight for Clove. You have never had to fight for a girl before and that bothers you. She has too much respect for herself to act like a Glimmer. That's what you find so intriguing about her." I tell him

We both sit there in silence for a while and Cato's breathing starts to become more even now that he is calming down.

"Cato?" Someone says sleepily

He and I look up and see Cassi standing at the door to his room wearing her pink nightgown and carrying her purple stuffed bunny by the ear. She walks as fast as her tired little feet can carry her and climbs onto Cato's lap hugging her bunny close to her.

"What are you doing up kiddo?" He asks

"You sounded sad and Mr. Bunny wanted to see if you were okay?" She yawns holding up her bunny to him

Cato gives a light laugh "I'm okay Cassi don't worry! Don't you worry either Mr. Bunny!"

Cassi turns around and wraps her small arms around Cato's neck and rests her head on his shoulder.

"Isn't that the bunny I got her for her birthday?" He whispers to me, pointing to Mr. Bunny who has now fallen on Cato's dark blue comforter

"Yeah, she loves it!" I whisper back to him

He gives Cassi, who has quickly fallen asleep on his shoulder, a kiss on the head.

"Cato, do me a favor. Really think about what you're doing before you do something so bad you can lose Clove forever. She's good for you I can tell you that right now." I say putting on my best older sister act

He just gives me a faint head nod and gets up to bring Cassi back to bed. I go to stand out in the hallway and watch Cato's large shadow slip Cassi back into her blankets.

"Good night little sister! I love you." He whispers to her

Cato walks back into the hallway, gives me a hug.

"Thanks Court!" he whispers in my ear, then disappears back into his bedroom

I stand in the hallway, smiling with my arms crossed staring at the bedroom doors of all three of my younger siblings.

"It's been a successful night of being an older sister. Now time to finish my movie!" I clap my hands and walk backdown the stairs

* * *

**A/N: Soo what do you think? A little different right? lol**

**I just wanted to clear something up about why Cato is acting the way he was in the last two chapters because some people seemed confused. Don't forget in Ch. 8 when they were all at Finnicks swimming Cato found Marvel and Clove together in Finnicks room and as far as Cato knows Marvel still likes Clove and now Cato doesn't know about Marvel and Jackie. Soo I could add something else here but that would blow a part of the story! haha so I will leave you at that!**

**Now we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming on Friday! :)**

**As usual comments, questions, concerns, suggestions welcome :)**

**xoxo**

**Shout outs:**

**Ch. 9**

Guest- I hoped you liked after the cliff hanger! :)

Guest- Thank you soo much I was really unsure about that chapter but I am glad you liked it!

Emma- Wow that means so much! I am glad it is your favoritest! lol I hop you have liked the updates since then and thanks so much for reading :)

Guest- Aww thank you! Its okay! whatever number you are you are still awesome :)

RealMcCoy16- Thank you so much! :)

.24- Aww thank you so much for the review! I am glad you like my story :)

MysteryNight- haha I hoped you liked the update! and I wonder if it was close to what you thought!

CeCedancelover- I hope you weren't too disappointed with the result of the cliffhanger! You'll thank me later though! :) Thanks for the review!

OdairBear-I hoped you liked the last update! :) Thanks for the review!

**Ch. 10**

KJane2000- AHHH thank you so much! :)

Emma- Aww I know! I felt bad for Cato too! But, don't worry it will all work out in the end! :)

Guest- I hope this helps! Even though I know you burnt your cookies a couple of days ago! But, I hope this makes it better :) Thanks for the review!

ThynderGurl-Thanks so much :)

Lacey Robinson- Thank you so much! and I wish I could too! haha :)

Guest- I love Jackie/Marvel too! I thought they were the cutest! Finnick and Annie are perfect! lol and don't worry Cato and Clove will be fixed soon! Always keep hope! :) Thanks for the review!

LiveForMex3- haha I was wondering if someone would catch onto who it was actually going to be! lol and yes you are right! gotta love harry potter! :) thanks again for the review!

xRoguexRavenx- Yayy! Love them :)

Koyamon-lover- aww thank you so much! Thanks for the review :)

Stockhorse- Your welcome! :) wow that is a huge compliment! Thank you soo much! Thats what I love about writing AU stories it gives you full reign to be how creative you want! :) and Thank you soo much! I am glad you liked the twist I added there!

CATOISMYLIFEP- Aww thank you so much Darling! and thank you for the review again! :)

RealMcCoy16- Thank you again! :)

Guest-thank you so much :)

telekinesis1728- lol I know crazy right! thanks for the review! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi everyone! I am so so so so (insert a bunch more so here) sorry this update is so late! Its been a really busy week and just had time to update today! So I hope you like this chapter :)**

**I just wanted to say Hi to all the new followers/reviewers/favoriters! Thanks for joining us and reading my story! It really means a lot!**

**100 review trivia questions on the bottom! :)**

* * *

After hitting the snooze button for at least the fourth time, I take the spare pillow at my feet and release it down on Jackie's head.

"Jaaaackieeee," I groan "First day of school let's go!"

Jackie insisted on driving me to school for the first day to know how the school runs, even though I have been there for almost a month because of soccer practices. But, she claims that Panem Prep is nothing during the summer compared to how it is during the actually school year.

Last night she had slept over to make the morning easier. In no way, shape, or form was that the most brilliant idea we thought it was going to be. After having a two hour Taylor Swift jam session in my room, and deciding to make huge serving bowl sized ice-cream sundaes at around midnight, we passed out cold from sugar highs around 2 am. Now we both lie curled up under my comforter begging for the hours to be turned back to get more sleep and there is only an hour left to get ready for school.

"Five more minutes, Mom." She swats a tired hand at me

"Jacqueline Fox, I am not your mother and if you don't get out of bed we are going to be late for our first day of school!" I scold her

I rip the comforter off of her hoping the cold air will force her to get out of bed. In my extreme tired state, I don't take into consideration it will make me cold as well. The cold air rushes in on both of us and Jackie lets out a strange annoyed grunt and sits up swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

"If you wanted me to get up, Clove. You should have just said something." she mumbles

I just roll my eyes at her knowing dam well I tried to get her out of bed. The two of us march over to my closet where our identical school uniforms are hanging on the front of the double closet doors.

After peeling our pajamas off, and slipping on our perfectly pressed school uniforms, we stand in front of my mirror in all our black blazer and red, black, and gray plaid skirt glory.

"Well this is..."

"A crime against anything fashionable?" Jackie finishes my statement

"I guess you could say that."

Not in the mood to bother with my hair, I brush out the matted mess and pull my hair into my typical ponytail. Jackie on the other hand tries to straighten her hair, but decides half way through she is better off pinning it into a messy low bun.

It's only been two days since the party at Jackie's house, and my wrist still isn't in the best of shape. The next morning when her parents came home from the ball they were at the night before since her mom is a doctor she looked at my wrist for me and said it was just very badly bruised, thankfully nothing was broken.

As I slip on my black flats I can't shake the unbearable throbbing in my wrist. I lift up the sleeve on my blazer and see my wrist is more swollen then it was last night, and I am pretty sure the bruising has gotten darker, too.

"Jackie, did someone spike our sundaes with alcohol last night? What happened to my wrist?" I ask, holding my wrist out to her.

"You don't remember?" she asks as an amused smile spreads across her face "You were dancing on your bed, swung your arm backwards and whacked it really hard on the frame above your bed then cried for twenty minutes, while cradling your wrist, about how much you missed Cato. You and the amount of sugar we had last night don't mix too well."

I feel my face going instantly red when she mentions the part about Cato.

_Why don't I remember anything that happened last night? Why was I babbling on about Cato last night? I'm mad at him ... at least I think I am._

I walk into my bathroom and grab two anti-inflammatorys to help with the swelling of my wrist for the rest of the day. I take my blazer hoping it helps with the pressure on my wrist. Jackie and I walk downstairs in silence and grab our breakfasts off the counter and say good-bye to my dad before heading out to Jackie's car. The whole time the gears in my brain are grinding, trying to figure out what I could have possibly said about Cato last night.

"Have a good day at school girls!" My dad calls to us

"We will!" We reply in unison

Jackie and I throw our backpacks and practice bags into the back seat of her car and climb into the front.

"I know you're trying to figure out what you said last night and why you did. I'm not sure why myself honestly." Jackie says

"What did I say?"

"You kept going on and on about his eyes and the day you two spent at the beach. I know how much it makes you angry if people lie to you Clove. He broke a huge promise and lied to you. Look at your wrist Clove. Not to mention the fact that I heard from Madge that he is now dating Slut-erella herself."

"Delly?" I choke on the smoothie I just inhaled from my thermos

"Yup," Jackie pops the P "You see what I mean?"

"Mmhmm" is all I say as I feel my stomach tie in knots.

_Happy first day of senior year Clove._

Jackie turns into the senior parking lot at school and we see Marvel sitting on the hood of his car clearly waiting for us to pull into the parking spot next to him. This is the first time I have seen the boys uniforms and they look just as awful as ours. Marvel has a pair of pristinely pressed khaki pants on, a black blazer that matches the ones that Jackie and I are wearing, a white dress shirt and a tie that matches our skirts.

As soon as Jackie parks the car she runs out and throws her arms around Marvels neck, he returns the hug and gives Jackie a quick kiss on the cheek. This leaves me to haul both of our back packs out of the car and I drop hers by her feet. She lets out a small shriek from clank next to her feet.

"Morning Diamond." I greet Marvel half asleep, plopping myself next to him on the hood of his car

"What's your problem Calloway?" He chuckles nudging me in the side

"It was a long night."

"How's your wrist?" He gingerly grabs my wrist placing it in his open hand

"It was getting better, but Ms. Klutzy over here had a little too much fun dancing last night and made the bruising worse." Jackie chimes in, moving to sit on her boyfriends lap

Marvel wraps one arm around Jackie's waist and gingerly places my arm back to rest on my leg. He looks up to me and smiles widely, that's when I notice the bruise under his eye is practically gone.

"Marvel, the bruise...it's...it's gone!" I say pointing to his eye where the bruise once lived

"Yup." He says beaming proudly at Nurse Jackie, the name we dubbed Jackie for that night.

We hear the first school bell ring and we gather our stuff to join Gale, Madge, Finn, and Annie who are waiting near the entrance of the school.

"You ready for your first day of school Calloway?" Marvel asks swinging his backpack over one shoulder

"Ready as I'll ever be. I just hope I have some people in my classes that I know." I sling my blazer over my arm

"You will!"

"Who?"

"Me! Unfortunately, Junior Einstein over here is in all honors classes so she is only in our lunch." Marvel laughs swinging his arm over Jackie's shoulder.

"And last period elective!" Jackie remarks playfully hitting Marvel in the chest

We all walk into the large brick building with white columns that I found out is called the Capital. The two smaller brick buildings that connect to the Capital are called District 1 and District 2. District 1 is where all the freshmen and sophomores have classes and District 2 is where the juniors and seniors are. The Capital houses the auditorium, gyms, cafeteria, offices, computer rooms, and school store. Jackie gave me the run down last night, and I run through what she said in my head.

Marvel grabs Jackie by the waist and brings her in for a kiss on the lips. Behind us I hear Finn and Gale start whistling, I can't help, but laugh. Jackie's face turns as read as her hair and when she pulls away she slaps my arm. I let out a yelp of pain because she stupidly hit my hurt wrist.

All the color has drained from her face when she realizes what she just did.

"Clove, I-I'm so sorry!" she whispers to me

"It's...fine." I say trying to hold back the tears that sprung into my eyes

Jackie gives me a quick hug and runs in the direction of the honors home room.

"See you all at lunch!" She yells back to us

"Come on gimpy, I'll show you to the office where you can all your papers and lap top!" Marvel grabs my good arm and drags me along with him to the main office

* * *

"Okay, so after all that. Here is your locker, mine is down the hall. Get whatever you need and we'll head to history." Marvel is gone around the corner to his locker

That was the most bizarre 10 minutes ever. The secretary in the office Caesar Flickerman, who Marvel told me is also the media arts teacher, had to be the most eccentric person I have ever met. Blue hair, blue clothes, everything was blue. But, Marvel said he's nothing compared to the food prep and etiquette teacher that we have, a Ms. Tinket or something.

Mr. Flickerman couldn't find any of my paper work, so in the process he kept asking me questions like I was on an interview for some competition. Marvel was turning red from holding in his laughter, all I can say is thank goodness I don't have media arts this year.

Once I get my locker open I hang my blazer on the hook, and organize what books I am going to need for History. I hear the locker next to me open and shut. I slip my blazer on and roll up my sleeve allowing my wrist to breathe, then put my backpack on. I shut the door to my locker, and see a figure leaning up against the locker next to me.

It's none other than, Cato Rhodes.

* * *

**A/N: Okay so I really didn't plan for this to be a semi-cliffy kinda chapter..but I just really liked how it fell like that! I hope you like it! :) More should be up soon cause I owe you guys that! lol As usual comments, questions, concerns, suggestions welcome!**

**xoxo**

**Finally the long awaited 100 review trivia question thing! WOO! lol Okay so here are the rules there are going to be three questions. 2 pertaining to THG book and one about my story. Who ever gets the questions right first gets to help me out with things in the story! I will PM whoever is the winner with the details about what that is!**

**THG questions:**

What are Cato and Cloves weapons of choice for the games? (Easy question I know :P)

How many times what Gale's name in the reaping bowl?

**I Never Planned on You question:**

What university does Finnick want to play for that His dad and Clove's dad played for also?

**Ready...Set...GO!**

**And may the odds be ****_ever_**** in your favor ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Clove**

I stand there for a few moments taking in Cato in his school uniform. His blazer just fits over his large and sculpted arm muscles, and his hair ruffled just enough to look like he put no effort into it, but everyone knows he spent a good twenty minutes getting it just perfect.

Needless to say I have never seen anyone look so handsome in a school uniform. I feel a blush creep across my face as I think how handsome he looks right now.

He cocks his eyebrow at me and I see a faint smirk creep across his lips.

"Hey." He says casually, finally breaking the silence

"Hi." I nervously run my injured arm over my ponytail

Cato intently watches my arm as I trail it over my pony tail, his eyes turn an ice blue and become little slits. Realizing, a little to late, I was exposing my injured wrist to him for the first time, which was something that I did not want to do. I quickly roll down the sleeve of my blazer hoping he didn't notice the damage too much.

And I was wrong.

I can see the anger radiating off of his body. He quickly grabs my wrist yanks up the sleeve of my blazer exposing the black, blue, and purple to him.

"Ow! Cato!" I yelp, as my breath shortens from the sudden burst of pain

"Is this what he did to you?" He growls

"Yes! Now please let go!" I plead with him, but his grip is making the throbbing worse

Memories of that night start flooding back, and Cato's grip on my wrist isn't making me feel any better. For the first time I am actually scared to be with him.

"Cato! Please let go, you're hurting me!" I yell as the tears start to stream down my face from the constant pain

Marvel bursts around the corner in a full sprint and has a really angry look on his face when he sees what is going on in front of him.

I swallow hard making the tears go away and take in a deep breath.

"Cato, look at me." I say as calmly as I can, taking my free hand and pressing it against his cheek "Please, you need to calm down. You're not helping either of us acting like this."

He lifts his head to look at me straight in the eye, and when he sees my tear stained face he drops my wrist from his grip like it was a hot potato.

I cup his face in both of my hands, and watch as Cato's eyes change from the piercing ice blue to the familiar soft ocean blue.

_He has the coolest eyes I have ever seen._

As I stare at him I find all I want to do right now is just crash my lips against his. He has a girlfriend, I remind myself quickly and drop my hands from his face and just was away, before I can do anything stupid.

"Clove go wait down the hallway,"Marvel points passed me "that is in the direction of our class."

I take one quick look at Cato, who is now leaning with his back against the locker and looking straight at the floor and head down the hallway where Marvel told me to go. I turn the corner and stop try to listen to Marvel and Cato's conversation.

"Alright out with it." Marvel says pacing back and forth in front of Cato

"What do you mean?"

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know man." Cato says in a low mumble

"Do you want to scare her away for good? Because that's what it looks like. First, your stupid stunt with Delly at the party at Jackie's, which I now hear your dating Delly. How many beers did you have that night?"

"Only two."

"That was two beers too many." Marvels voice is starting to become more frantic now

"Did you see what that asshole did to her?" Cato snaps back at him

"Of course I did and I got a black eye from it. I hate Kensington as much as the rest of you do. But, its no use to take it out on the one girl that I know you really care about!"

"You don't know the shit that is going on right now Diamond." Cato growls

There is clanking of lockers and a low grunt. I peek around the corner and see that Marvel now has Cato pinned up against the locker.

"Rhodes, we are best friends. But, right now I am not exactly sure who you are. When you find the Cato that the rest of us are friends with, let me know because I miss him." Marvel says through gritted teeth

"Cato, our first class is about to start come on!" Delly's whine suddenly chimes into the conversation

My stomach has become so used to twisting into knots when I hear her nails-on-a-chalkboard voice.

"Your Slut-erella awaits you Prince Charming!" Marvel says bowing to Cato

I try to hold in my laugh, but it comes out as a loud snort Marvel finds it just as amusing when he joins me with a large smile plastered across his face.

"That was brilliant," I say giving Marvel a hug "the look on her face, she was so appalled."

"How's your wrist Calloway?"

"It's been better."

I hear Cato's familiar footsteps bounding down the hallway in our direction and then stop. I internally cringe really hoping he is not seeing me and Marvel hugging right now. I quickly pull away from Marvel and turn to see Cato with a really pained and angered look on his face. He just gives a low growl and walks away dragging Delly behind him

"He doesn't know about you and Jackie does he?" I ask Marvel, while I feel tears start to fill my eyes

"Nope." Marvel replies staring straight ahead

_Cato has to have the worst timing of anyone that I know._

"He has to have the worst timing of anyone I know." Marvel says echoing my thoughts

My feet start moving before I can completely think what I am doing next, I am running in the direction that Cato just disappeared too. I spot his blonde hair and Delly with her stupid slutty arms wrapped around Cato's.

"Cato wait!" I call after him choking through the tears

I swear I see him stop and peek back over his shoulder at me and I feel a little glimmer of hope rise in my heart. But, Slut-erella whispers something in his ear and he gives her a quick kiss on the lips. I swear it feels like my heart just got knocked off of a shelf and smashed into a million pieces that hurt more then what Ryder did to me with Glimmer.

"Come on Clove we better get to class." Marvel says behind me

I turn around to walk and meet him, keeping my head staring on the ground, and wiping the stray tears from my face. Marvel, being the good friend that he is, swings his arm around my shoulder giving me a reassuring hug.

* * *

**Cato**

_That asshole! How dare he touch my Clove, MY CLOVE! I hate him! Right now I don't know who I hate more, Ryder or me._

That is all I can think of as I sit through first period, while I watch a blue Caesar Flickerman lecture my media arts class. The massive ugly black, blue, and purple band that has invaded her perfectly tiny wrist, it makes me sick just thinking about it and the pain that she was in that night. And the fact that I should have been the one to save her that night, beat the living shit out of Kensington and then spend the night with Clove in my arms, keeping her safe and making sure she was happy.

Now that I am think about it Marvel was right, two beers too many and look what it got me. I am stuck with Delly and Marvel swooped in to save the day and now he has the one girl I ever truly cared about. I could kick myself repeatedly in the head for not saving her when she needed me most.

* * *

**Clove**

First period is practically a free period, our teacher Mr. Abernathy was hungover apparently and all he did was put a movie in and fell asleep for the rest of class. How he still has his job here I have no idea.

Finnick, Peeta and Annie are also in first period with me and Marvel, needless to say they were immediately filled in on the adventure we had in the hallway. Finnick had a deranged look in his eye and I had to calm him down multiple times telling him 'I am okay.' and 'No it is not necessary to beat Cato up.' If you have managed to piss sweet, innocent Annie Cresta off that is a huge accomplishment and right now Annie is not Delly's number one fan. Poor Peeta looks so appalled by the story, I am afraid I may have broken him, he hasn't said anything since that class.

Second and third period was a blur I really don't remember much of what happened. Now Peeta, Marvel, and I are walking to fourth period together. Peeta and I have art together and Marvel is right across the hall.

"Clove?" Peeta finally asks after almost two hours of not saying anything

"Holy shit Mellark has finally spoken! Someone call the newspaper!" Marvel makes a grand announcement

"Shut up, Diamond!" I laugh smacking Marvel in the chest "What's up Peeta?"

"How did you do it?"

"Do what?" I stop walking and cross my arms

The three of us stop in the hallway and form a little clump together.

"Cato. I mean everyone knows he ... umm can't control his anger very well. It was like one touch from you and he was practically putty in your hands."

"Mellarks got a point. How did you do it?"

I look at the two of them completely stunned, not really sure myself how I did it.

"Honestly, I am not really sure. I just knew if he calmed down he wouldn't do something that he would regret later." I say giving my best convincing smile to the two of them

Peeta and I walk into art class and meet Katniss at one of the empty tables. Our art teacher, who tells us just to call him Cinna, has to be the coolest teacher ever, he is so laid-back. He told us to draw a portrait of anyone that we want. I choose my mom, Katniss chooses her sister, and Peeta chooses Katniss. No surprise there.

I cock my eyebrow at him as I see his hand fly over his sketch pad. He stops after about two minutes of intently drawing and he has half of Katniss' face perfectly sketched out. I look at my own sketch pad and barely have my mom's head drawn.

"How?" I say pointing Peeta's sketch pad

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Katniss giggles waving it off

The bell rings to end the period and we grab out things to head to lunch.

* * *

**Cato**

_I guess since she moved on, its time for me to, as well. Marvel is better for her anyway. We'll both be happier. Now I can focus on that full ride to USC that I want._

I honestly don't mind having gym before lunch, going to the weight room clears my mind and having full advantage of the football locker room to take a shower is always nice.

I turn the nozzle on the shower to off and wrap my towel around my waist. Checking the time on the clock I see I have five minutes before the period is over. Just enough time to get dressed and head to lunch.

I walk out of the locker room tightening my tie and see a girl with dark hair in a pony tail leaning against the door frame of the locker room. My heart suddenly sparks with happiness.

"Clove?" I ask placing my hand on the girl's shoulder

She quickly turns around and I am face-to-face with a pair of brown eyes not Clove's emerald green ones.

"Oh, Hey Maria." I mumble then walk pasther and for the cafeteria

I walk into the cafeteria and find the table with all my friends and slip into the end seat at the end of the bench near Katniss, Peeta, Madge and Gale. Out of the corner of my eye I see Clove at the opposite end of the table across from Jackie and next to Finn laughing about something that Marvel just said.

_She's happy, right? I should be happy at least for her._ _I can't help the pit in my stomach that isn't going away._

A while later Jackie and Clove return from the lunch line with their trays full, Clove places hers on the table and I see Delly walking with two of her friends in the direction of Clove.

_This is not going to turn out good._

I cringe as I watch Delly "accidentally" spill her entire tray all over Clove. Clove is just standing there stunned holding her arms up, Jackie slams her fist down on the table and stands straight up.

"Hey Slut-erella, go bug someone else we don't need you here!" She yells at Delly

Clove lets out an annoyed moan and Jackie mumbles something about 'getting her fixed up right away!'

"Dude!" Gale pounds the table in front of "Four words: Get. Rid. Of. Her."

"Ughh! I know!" I moan covering my face with my eyes

* * *

**Clove**

Jackie is a miracle worker. Plain and simple. There is not one particle of food left on my uniform.

Today can definitely go down as the worst first day of school ever. The last two periods of the day I just stayed to myself. It turns out Cato is the only one that I know that is in my English class. Unfortunately I got assigned to the seat next to him in class.

The whole period I just kept my head down writing all the notes that Mr. Havensbee gave, and Cato kept one of his ear puds plugged into his ear even though its against school rules.

I didn't focus much during last period either, I was just focusing on getting home to forget this day ever happened. I think the only thing I got out of that class was Ms. Trinket has some strange fashion sense.

I am now in BeeTee's room, he is the computer tech guy. He is helping me with fixing a problem on my computer, to make sure I can get all the schools emails.

While I am waiting at BeeTee's table I hear footsteps coming in behind me and stop. BeeTee looks up, pushing the arch of his glasses up his nose.

"Ahh, Mr. Rhodes. This is our new student Ms. Calloway. Have you two met before?" He says

I slowly turn on my heel to face him. He has his blazer slung over one arm and is carrying his back pack by one strap.

"Cato." He states before placing his hand out in front of him

I look from his hand back up to his face to see if he is joking. I have never seen a more serious look on his face before.

"Clove." I say placing my hand in his and shaking it

"Well I am glad we all now each other!" BeeTee says happily

_Oh how wrong BeeTee is!_

With that simple hand shake we went from two friends, who were barely talking, to complete strangers.

* * *

**A/N: Soo what do you think? Questions, comments, concerns, suggestions always welcome :)**

**Don't worry! I think you are all really going to like next chapter! :D**

**I have already contacted the winner for my trivia thing! But, I just wanted to thank everyone who submitted answers! I may do another thing similar in the future so don't worry there could be another chance to help out with the story!**

**Shout out to the other people that did get all three questions right though:**

PhoenixRetribution

EvIL-CakEs-EaT-U

finnickandannie4ever

silvernight92

Charlie3Cato

Stockhorse

RealMcCoy18

**Thanks again everyone for reading my stories and all the reviews! You all help me keep going with writing this story! **

**Love you all! **

**xoxo,**

**centerstagex11**


	14. Chapter 14

**Previously on I Never Planned on You:**

_"Cato." He states before placing his hand out in front of him_

_I look from his hand back up to his face to see if he is joking. I have never seen a more serious look on his face before._

_"Clove." I say placing my hand in his and shaking it_

_"Well I am glad we all now each other!" BeeTee says happily_

_Oh how wrong BeeTee is!_

_With that simple hand shake we went from two friends, who were barely talking, to complete strangers_

* * *

_**Cato**_

It's been two weeks.

12 days, 14 hours and 37 minutes to be exact. But, who's counting.

It's been two weeks since I hastily decided to cut Clove out of my life completely.

_"She's going to be happier and I'm going to be happier since we don't have to worry about each other anymore."_

I repeated that over and over again in my head as I left BeeTee's class that day.

I was wrong ... yet again.

_I watch as she looks at my hand that is held out in front of her and lifts her eyes to meet mine to see if I'm joking. Marvel always told me that I was good on hiding my true emotions so it wasn't that hard to keep a serious face. Her face is painted with confusion and I can see hurt in her eyes. The confusion is quickly wiped away, but the hurt look in her eyes is still there. She reaches her small hand for my monstrous one and wraps it around mine._

_"Clove." She says simply_

_At that moment everything that happened between the two of us was gone and we became complete strangers by a simple hand shake._

That moment has been replayed in my head for the last 12 days, 14 hours and now 40 minutes. The way Clove's face looked has been etched in my brain and haunts me wherever I go, I see her everywhere, in every girl I see. Even in Delly, which is kind of creepy. _This_ by far has been the worst decision I have ever made.

I have been absolutely worthless since that day. I just go through the motions of school and practice to get home and sit in my room for the rest of the night.

We had our first football game last week, thanks to me not being focused we almost lost until Coach pulled me out and put Gale in as quarterback who pulled out a win for us. Needless to say I heard it from my sister when I got home from the game. I zoned out during majority of the conversation, but I heard a lot of 'selfish', 'idiot' and 'stupid' used which was her way of describing me.

But, in her rant the one thing that did stick out to me was when she said: "Cato, this is not you! When you find the real you let me know because the real you doesn't give up this easily!" My sister and best friend both told me that I need to go find myself.

So here I am sitting at one last ditch effort.

Sitting ... and waiting ... sitting ... and waiting ...

* * *

**Clove**

It's been two weeks.

The day that everything happened in BeeTee's room I went home after practice, ate dinner in silence with my dad and cried myself to sleep. I was mad, worn out, exhausted and just plain pissed.

I told Jackie what happened the next day. I'm not sure if that was the best decision, any time we were in even a ten foot radius of Cato I made sure any potential weapons were far away from Jackie. Or she would have found a plastic spoon to use as weapon to hurt him. Yes, what he did hurt, but he doesn't deserve to be physically hurt because of it. Even though his little plan seemed to backfire and hurt him more than it hurt me. On the plus side, she did help me not spend so much time sulking over what happened and fully enjoy my senior year with all my friends.

Then there was the football game last Friday. For one of the top ranked quarterbacks on the east coast, Cato basically blew it. That was until Brutus pulled him and put Gale instead, who gave us the win.

Marvel was stunned as he watched Cato get tackled play after play, and throw so many interceptions. 'Something's wrong.' He kept mumbling repeatedly the entire game. It got to the point where he couldn't watch the game anymore and sat on the bleacher with his head in his hands and Jackie rubbing his back trying to calm him down.

If only Marvel knew what happened. I didn't tell him what happened, it wasn't worth it.

Cato got his wish though, he wanted us to be like strangers and that's exactly what it's been. The only form of contact we have is when I catch him looking at me during lunch from the other end of the lunch table. Immediately I feel the heat start to rise on my face because his damn eyes are so captivating. But, I look away immediately.

Now I am driving home from practice in the pouring rain and can barely see out my front windshield. As I slowly pull into my driveway my headlights catch the red paint of Lucy's VW beetle, I forgot it's Friday and my dad is off to somewhere else to do commentary for a football game.

While I am trying to park my phone starts ringing and vibrating somewhere deep in the recesses of my back pack. Once I put my car in park I take the keys out of the ignition as the car goes quiet and the rain pelts the front window. My phone stops ringing before I can find it.

"Shoot!"

Big surprise my phone was in the front pocket of my backpack, I press the button on the front and see:

**1 Missed Call**

**Hawthorne**

Gale have the relationship where we call each other by our last names, and last names only. Needless to say my name in his phone is just Calloway. I press the call button and he answers before there is even a full ring.

"Calloway why didn't you answer your phone! This is important!" He barks on the other end

"Couldn't find it. What is so important?"

"Have you seen Cato?"

"No?" My answer comes out more as a question "Aren't you guys still at practice?"

"Everyone is, expect for him. He's skipped practice for the last two days."

"Really?!"

"Yes! When was the last time you saw him?"

"Last period, during Ms. Trinkets class." I yell into the phone as I run to my front door, carrying my back pack, practice bag, and cell phone while trying to dodge all the raindrops

"You are sure that's the last time you saw him?"

"Yes, Officer Hawthorne that is the last time I saw him. Unless he magically appears in my bedroom I have no idea where he is." I tell him and wave to Lucy who is in the kitchen

"This is not the time to be joking Calloway! Brutus told us if we don't find him by tomorrow Odair and I are going to get our asses handed to us on a silver platter." The anger in his voice starting to rise now

"Alright calm down. I really wish I could help," _Lie. _"but I have no idea where he-"

"Calloway? Hello? You have no idea what?"

There he is sitting on my bed; blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect abs.

"Guess who I just magically found on my bedroom?"

"Cato? You better not be joking. I'm ser-"

"I got to go Hawthorne."

"Calloway don't hang up o-"

_Click._

I don't know how to feel right now. Furious? _Yes._ Excited? _Maybe_. Sad? No. Confused? _That's a definite yes._

I just stand at my doorway staring at him and he is staring at me from my bed. He is still in his school uniform, but his tie is loosened and the two top buttons of his shirt is unbuttoned. His blazer and phone, which is now lighting up, is siting next to him on my bed.

I have half of a mind to kick him out of my house right now, but something in me wants to hear what lovely things he has to say this time.

"Since we are both just standing here not saying anything. Let me get something out of the way. How the hell did you get in here?"

"Lucy."

_Typical._

"What do you want? You got your wish of us being strangers, Cato. Why are you still bothering me?" I say stepping further into my room and shutting the door "After two weeks of not talking to me, now you have something to say? What could it possibly be?"

"Can you just shut up for once Clove?" He growls at me

"Excuse me!" I can feel the anger starting to bubble inside

"What happened to us?"

"What happened to us? You have got to be kidding me! You are the one that overreacted that day when you found me and Marvel together in Finn's room!"

I see every muscle in his body tighten when I mention that day with Marvel. That is the last straw and sets me over the edge.

"Oh grow up, Cato! He was just being a good friend. Maybe you should learn a thing or two from him."

That doesn't go over well with him and then he starts to retaliate back at me.

"Do you think it's been easy for me Clove? I see you everywhere I go, the check-in girl at the gym, random girls on the street. I can't get you out of my head."

"Well, it certainly didn't seem like that when I found you playing tonsil hockey with Delly at Jackie's party! I bet you didn't even know I walked in on you two. I came looking for you because I wanted to fix things Cato!" I yell back at him

"Do you know how hard it is for me to see you with any other guy? Especially your new boyfriend Marvel."

"What!?" I shriek

He starts to answer, but I hold my hand out "You know what? No, don't answer that. Get out Cato."

"What?" he growls

"Get out Cato. Take this with you." I say opening my bedroom door and shoving the sweatshirt he gave me in the center of his chest

He walks over to my door and steps out into the hallway.

"One last thing," I can feel the tears start to rise in my eyes and one trail down my cheek "If you took any time to think about anyone else, but yourself. You would know Marvel and I aren't dating. He's with Jackie. It's been you, Cato! It's always been you! I thought you would be willing to fight for me. I guess I was wrong."

I slam the door in his face, lock it and slump down against the foot of my door and start shaking violently from the sobs.

There are three rapid knocks at my door.

"Clove!" Cato yells and I hear the door handle jiggle "Dammit! Open the door!"

"Go away!" I moan

The tears keep streaming down my face as I curl up on my side and let the cries take me away to a bleak dream land.

* * *

I am woken up almost an hour later to light knocking on my door.

"Ms. Clove? Are you okay?" Lucy's British accent chirps on the other side of the door.

I groan sitting up and stretching out all my limbs from their scrunched up position.

"I don't want to talk Lucy." I tell her

"You don't have to talk Ms. Clove. I just thought you could use a plate of my chocolate chip cookies."

_Lucy's famous chocolate chip cookies always make everything better._

I pull myself up off the floor, brush myself off and open the door. When I opened the door Lucy wasn't standing there with a steaming hot plate of cookies, it was Cato now in a pair of dark blue sweatpants and the sweatshirt I shoved at him before holding two dozen red roses in one hand and a container of Lucy's cookies in the other.

Cato looks at me, shuts my door, throws the container of cookies and roses on my dresser and attaches his hands to my face like they were two magnets made for each other. His lips crash against mine with such force I am almost knocked off my feet. I wrap my arms around his neck and tangle my fingers in his blonde hair. Our lips mold together like two perfect puzzle pieces.

Suddenly he pulls away leaning his forehead against mine and staring deep into my eyes.

"I'm sorry, baby. I was such an asshole." He says between pants to catch his breath

"Just shut up and kiss me, you idiot." I say in a low purr, smashing our lips together again

Cato slides his hands from my face down my back pulling me in closer to him so there is no room between both of our bodies. I lift one of my legs up wrapping it around his waist Cato quickly catches on bracing my one thigh with his hand and lifting my other leg with his other hand until my legs are firmly wrapped around his waist.

Every emotion the two of us have held in for the last two weeks are coming out right now. This kiss is filled with such white hot passion I feel like my body is filled with live wires. Cato starts walking towards my bed and gently drops me down on my comforter. Our lips are still dancing together, until I feel his tongue graze my bottom lip I easily let his tongue in and we both start to fight for dominance.

Cato runs his hands down both sides of my body and slips one of his hands under my t-shirt and resting it on the small of my back. His simple touch feels like it has sent my entire body on fire. He cradles the back of my head with his hand and tilts it gently to the side, he starts to move his lips from mine and make a light trail of kisses down my neck. I feel shivers start to trail through my body, and I feel like I am sent off to another universe.

"Cato..." I breathe

"Shhh..." He manages between his kisses

He finishes the trail of kisses and his lips are gone. But, they return quickly with the lightest, airiest kiss making me week at the knees, but bringing me back to reality.

"Holy crap!" We both say at the same time.

Cato lies down on my bed now pulling me into him, so my back is to his chest and he brushes a few stray strands of hair out of my face.

"You're mine, no one else's." He says in a low seductive growl that sends chills down my spine

I shift around so we are both face-to-face, "So does that mean I am the famous Cato Rhodes girlfriend?" I arch my eyebrow at him

He pokes me in the stomach and I squeal with laughter and proceeds to tickles me in my sides to the point I can't breathe from laughing so hard.

"That's the only way I see it." He says wiggling his eyebrows at me flirtatiously

A chill appears through my body and I instantly get up to go get a sweatshirt.

"Where do you think you're going?" Cato chuckles wrapping an arm around my waist

"I was going to get sweatshirt." I tell him giving him my best puppy dog face

"Oh no you're not."

He peels the sweatshirt off that he was wearing, which leaves him in a simple white t-shirt and gently slips it over my head. I slip my arms through the sleeves while he gets up to get the cookies that are sitting on my dresser.

"I told Lucy to go home and not to worry because I'll spend the night here. I'm thinking that we watch the CSI marathon that is on and finish off these cookies?" He says sauntering back to me, shoving a cookie in his mouth

I quickly prop my pillows against my headboard while Cato slides under my comforter next to me. I snuggle into my sweatshirt and rest my head against Cato's chest, he wraps one arm around me drawing small circles on my shoulder. He rests the container in the middle of the two of us and we joyfully eat Lucy's cookies.

"Cato?" I say tiredly looking up to him

"Yeah?"

"I am glad you are here." A wide smile spreads across my face

"Me too." He gives me a quick kiss on the lips

As I feel myself drifting off to sleep Cato gives me a quick kiss on the forehead, which perks me up immediately.

"Goodnight, baby. I'll be here in the morning." He whispers

For the first time since my mom died I have fallen asleep truly happy.

* * *

**A/N: YAYYYY! Finally Clato as arrived :D haha sooo what are your thoughts? questions, comments, concerns, suggestions always welcome!**

**This may be the only time that I can update this weekend because I have a really busy weekend coming up. But, I wanted to get this out for sure to you guys because I owed it to you after the last update haha. I hoped you liked this one :)**

**THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR ALL THE AMAZING REVIEWS! THEY TRUELY MEAN THE WORLD TO ME :)**

**xoxo**

**centerstag**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: The feedback on the last chapter was soo awesome! You guys are truly amazing. It was a really humbling experience to get all of your comments! Thank you again for all the lovely reviews! I love you all! :)**

**Here is just a little something before the bigger chapters this weekend. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Clove**

I sit in my usual chair at the island in the kitchen staring out at the waves crashing on the shore, with my apple in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. I, Clove Calloway, am a girl of routine and when I can't sleep in the middle of the night I always sit in the left chair at the island and eat an apple. At this point it's about 3:30 in the morning; I've been sitting here for thirty minutes.

About an hour ago I woke up nestled up against Cato's chest with his arms wrapped around my body; a tired smile spreads across my face and I lightly rub his arm getting used to the sculpted muscles that are embracing me. Almost subconsciously, Cato shifts in bed pulling me in closer to him. "Go to sleep, Cloves." He says giving me a quick kiss on my forehead. It's been a while since I've heard that name, and it instantly made me smile.

I quickly reached for my phone on my side table, clicked the button on top and found the slew of text messages that I had been bombarded with, they were all from Gale, Finn, and Jackie. They weren't very pleasant text messages either. Finn and Jackie kept going on about the fact I better not do anything stupid if it was true that I did find Cato in my room, especially after what he did to me. Finn kept mentioning how everyone else feels the same way because of what Cato did to me, and now they all hate him. And, Gale being Gale, wants to know if I was serious when I said I found Cato in my room so he doesn't have to do whatever laborious task Brutus has planned for him. Needless to say, they all hate Cato with a burning passion right now.

_How the hell am I supposed to tell them that we are dating? We can't that's our only solution._

Not wanting to deal with their stupid messages, I put my phone back and snuggled against Cato's chest again hoping the steady thump of his heart would help me go back to sleep. It didn't. After struggling out of Cato's iron grip, I slid out from under the covers and slipped my phone in the pocket of my sweatshirt.

"Where are you going?" I hear Cato mumble

"Shh ... Go back to sleep." I whispered giving him a light kiss on the lips

He gave me a tired, sad puppy dog face and I slipped my pillow in his arms hoping it felt like I was still there. I saw a tired smile creep across his lips and he pulled the pillow closer to him.

_Note to self, Cato is clueless when he is tired._

That is how I ended up here, in my usual "I can't sleep" spot. I placed my phone next to me continually press the on/off button on the screen, taking another bite of my apple the small overhead light clicks on.

"Ahhh!" I moan pulling the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and covering my eyes to take the light away

"Hey!" Cato's husky voice says from behind me "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep why are you up?"

"Couldn't find you so I thought I'd get something to eat." He replies while passing me and sticking his head in the refrigerator

"Well I'm glad if I was kidnapped the first thing you would do is eat before you call the police to come look for me." I smirk leaning my head into my hand

"I knew you wouldn't have gotten far, plus I was really hungry."

He turns around and faces me holding a giant piece of chocolate cake. His face lights up like a four-year-old on Christmas morning. I roll my eyes and laugh at his sudden excitement ... over cake!

"You can't be serious Cato. You have a football game in a few hours."

"But I'm hungry!" He whines

"Fine, but if you throw up on the sideline today, it's not my problem!"

I let out a sigh as Cato gently tugs the hood of my sweatshirt off and kisses me on top of the head.

"Is everything okay?" He asks before shoving a fork full of cake in his mouth

The text messages from our friends swirl around in my head and bounce off each other making me dizzy.

_How am I going to tell him what I read?_

Cato grabs both sides of my chair and spins me to face him.

"Hey." Cato says softly, lifting my chin up with his fingers "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm going back to bed." I say jumping down from my chair.

Before I get too far, Cato captures me in his arms placing me back in front of him while he is still sitting on his chair. He wraps his arms around my waist and mine are around his neck, like we are slow dancing. My fingers lace themselves in Cato's hair on the back of his head, and I see a shiver ripple through his body. Instantly I feel my cheeks turn pink and I smile looking down at the floor.

"You are not leaving until you tell me what's going on?" He says in a low voice, not moving his eyes from me

"I don't know if it is the best idea to tell our friends that we are dating right now." The words come tumbling out of my mouth quickly.

His face drops and the look he gives me breaks my heart.

"Why?"

"I, umm - I got some text messages after we fell asleep."

"From who?" He asks suspiciously raising an eyebrow at me

I pull my phone off the counter and find the text messages to show him. After a few minutes his eyebrows furrow together, his jaw sets and I feel his arms go rigid around me.

"What the hell did I ever to do Odair? I have been nothing, but nice to him! I have looked out for Annie for him when he wanted me to. What the hell! I me..."

"Shhhh" I place a finger on his lips cutting him off "First, calm down. Second, Jackie can't keep her mouth shut. So, she told Finnick what happened two weeks ago. Basically, you hurt me and he wants to beat you up. I'm his little sister remember?"

Cato grabs my hand off of his lips and holds it gently in his large hand examining the now healing bruise that once invaded my wrist.

"What about Jackie?" He asks quietly

"Think about it Cato. You two have never really gotten along. What would make this time any different?"

He lets out an airy chuckle "You're right."

"I know I am!" I giggle smiling triumphantly at him.

"Don't flatter yourself Calloway!" He smiles still examining my wrist "You know I will never forgive myself for you getting this. I was supposed to protect you, Clove. And, I wasn't there for you."

I cup both of my hand around Cato's face bringing his eyes to look at me, "Let's not talk about that. The stupid bruise is finally healing. I don't want to relive it. You're here now and that's what matters most right?"

He leans in to me crashing his lips into mine, and he pulls me in closer to him so our bodies mold perfectly together. I pull away and lean my head on his shoulder closing my eyes, and letting out a yawn while he strokes small circles on my back.

"Come on, Sleepy. We should get back to bed." He whispers in a soothing voice

We pull apart and he gets up from chair exposing his back to me. I jump on, latching my arms around his neck and his hands cup under my legs.

"Cato?" I ask struggling to keep my eyes open

"Yeah, babe?"

"What are we going to do about everything?"

"I don't know, Clove. I guess we'll keep it a secret for now. But, we both need to sleep, lets just figure it out in the morning."

"Okay." I say resting my chin on his shoulder

When we get up to my room, Cato turns his back to my bed and I detach myself from him. I scramble up to the top of my bed and slide under the blankets. Cato slides in next to me and pulls me into his chest. This time the steady thump of his heart calms me down and we both fall asleep very easily.

* * *

**A/N: awwww got to love Clato! 3 lol This was a filler and MAJOR fluff sort of chapter. I hope you liked it!**

**As usual comments, questions, concerns, suggestions welcome! :)**

**xoxo**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Yayy! Finally an update! I am soo sorry for having you guys wait so long. I really hope you like this chapter! Thank you for sticking with me while I took the small break there. You are the best! :)**

* * *

**Clove**

"Clove, I thought you were okay with the whole plan?" Cato questions

He takes one hand off of the steering wheel and grabs my hand giving it an extra squeeze of reassurance. I tilt my head leaning it on my knees and curiously watch Cato as he keeps his eyes on the road in front of him. The bright early morning fall sun shines in through the windshield and the way it is casting off of Cato's aviators makes him look like he is glowing. It amazes me how perfect he can look without really trying, and the best part is he's all mine.

The only reason either of us would willingly be up this early is for football. That is exactly what is happening. Cato needs to make up for his horrific game last week, and I am going to support him and hang out with all of our friends. This morning while we were getting ready we decided that it definitely wouldn't be the best to tell them all now what is going on. Our plan right now is to still act mad at each other in front of everyone and be boyfriend and girlfriend when we are alone.

_It should be easy right? One could only hope._

"I'm fine Cato honestly. I have just never kept anything this huge from Finn before, you know how I always tell him everything." I say, sighing

"Yeah, but that's what I'm here for now." He mumbles

I smirk, inching closer to him and wresting my elbows on the center consul, "If I didn't know any better I would say you're jealous?"

He doesn't say anything, but his face goes beat red. I laugh and give him a quick peck on the cheek before wresting back in my seat.

When we pull into the parking lot of school there are three school buses lining the curb and our friends gathered in a clump by their cars. Cato finds a parking spot a few rows behind them, but close enough so they can easily see us.

I turn to Cato, grab his face in my hands and lift his sun glasses, "Cato, good luck and please I am begging you don't get hurt. I want my boyfriend back in one piece, thank you very much."

I lean in forward to kiss him and he smiles into the kiss. He gently pushes a piece of hair out of my face and tucks in behind me ear.

"Clove, I'll be fine. Last week was nothing compared to how I really play. Now are you ready to put this plan into action?" He raises an eyebrow at me

I let out a long sigh, "As ready as I'll ever be Goliath.

We sit for a second in silence before opening our car doors"It was only because my car wasn't working!" I yell to Cato as we both get out of his car

All of our friend's heads turn in our direction as they watch us argue.

_Perfect, it's working!_

"Only because someone forgot to check their gas gauge!" Cato retorts sliding his aviators on and smirking at me

"Whatever!" I scoff, heading towards Jackie

"Can I at least get a thank you Calloway?" He calls after me

I turn around and give him my best wicked smile, "Thanks for nothing, asshole."

He scoffs and shakes his head. He gives me a discreet thumbs up before heading into the school.

I roll my eyes and smile at the shocked looks painted on every one's faces.

"Hey guys!" I wave and slide in next to Finnick

"What the hell was that?" Jackie hisses, grabbing the sleeve of my sweatshirt and dragging me next to her

"It was nothing." I say trying to move onto the next topic

"Bullshit, C.C." Finn says crossing his arms

"Fine, I went out to my car to come here and my car was dead. It had absolutely no gas. Cato was on his way here, saw me having trouble with my car. He talked me into letting him give me a ride here. I was running late so I stupidly agreed. You heard how the rest ended that was it!"

Finnick doesn't believe me. I can tell by the look on his face. If he couldn't read me like a book then, I would have been able to easily get away with it.

"Now are we going to play let's keep interrogating Clove. Or are we going to actually enjoy the football game?" I say

"Yeah guys it's football time! Woohoo!" Marvel bellows as he walks towards us with Peeta

"What. Are. You. Wearing?" Jackie's jaw drops in complete shock

Marvel looks like he stuck his finger in an electrical socket because his hair is sticking up in every direction. Half of his face is painted red and the other half is grey, he has red shorts on and one red knee high sock and one grey knee high sock, taken from his soccer uniform I am sure. It looks like he recruited Peeta in joining him in his ridiculous outfit. Since Peeta is wearing the same outfit, except his hair is in his normal style.

"You don't like it Jackie?" I laugh nudging her in the side

"I-I-umm... I don't know what to say." She sputters back

_It's a miracle Jackie is speechless._

"You guys haven't seen the best part yet!" Marvel exclaims

"I think we have seen all we needed to, Diamond." Finnick states laughing

Suddenly, Marvel lifts up his t-shirt and reveals a large red "GO" painted on his chest. He keeps nudging Peeta in the side, like Peeta is supposed to make the next move, but refuses to. Eventually Peeta lifts his shirt revealing a large red "PP" on his chest.

All of us break into a round of laughter at the saying that Marvel intelligently thought of. Peeta's face goes pink and he pulls his shirt backdown and goes to sit next to Katniss. I have never seen Marvel looked so lost before.

"What?" He asks and pulls down his shirt

"Aww babe!" Jackie squeals walking over to her boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his torso

"Marvel think about it," I breath out in between laughs "Go...PP..."

We all watch Marvel as his face slowly turns from confusion to shock realizing what he actually thought was a good idea.

"No way! It's supposed to mean Panem Prep!" He says as his face turns red

Jackie gives him a quick peck on the lips and giggles wresting her head on his chest.

Marvel digs his hand in his pocket and pulls out his phone, "Hello?... Alright I'll be right there. Bye. Sorry guys I have to go inside really quick."

He disappears behind the line of school buses. Madge appears from behind the buses pulling Annie behind her. They are both dressed in their red and gray cheering uniforms, with their bright white sneakers and their hair pulled half up and topped with a red and silver cheer bow.

Annie looks like she just saw a ghost, she is as white as a sheet, she has her hands over her ears and is staring at her feet and it looks like she is muttering something.

"Finnick!" Madge says with a frantic look plastered on her face

"Oh no!" Finnick mutters next to me, then runs to Madge and Annie

"What's going on?" I whisper to Jackie

"You don't know about the accident?" Katniss asks

I just shake my head no, as Jackie, Katniss, Peeta and I gather in a small group.

"A few years ago, Annie's family got in a really severe car accident and her little brother Matthew died from the accident. It affected their whole family, but especially Annie she was really close to her brother. She became a lot quieter and occasionally has these "episodes" where she relives the accident in her mind and Finnick is the only one that can get her out of it." Katniss says, a sad smile spreads across her face

"It's really cute honestly," Jackie chimes in "Everyone expected Finnick to break up with her after the accident. He's stayed by her through everything."

"Of course he would. He's only been in love with one girl his whole life, and that's Annie." I finish

"Awwww!" Jackie exclaims placing her hand over her heart

Finnick and Annie rejoin us in our circle. Annie furiously wipes at her eyes, trying not to ruin her perfect game day make up and Finnick wraps his arms around Annie's waist placing her in front of him.

"Hey Annie, you ready for the game?" I ask her

"Yeah." she replies giving me a small smile

"Well...well...well... look what we have here." says an all to familiar shrill voice behind us

I turn around and see Glimmer with her arms perched on the bus window, and her perfect blonde curls cascading over her shoulders. I can already feel my blood start to boil at just the sight of her.

"If it isn't Katpiss, Peetabread," She says pointing to them "Ginger," she says in a monotone voice and I swear Peeta had to hold Jackie back from attacking the bus "Hi Finnick!" she waves at him flirtatiously "Crestdork, and last, but certainly least the girl that stole my ex-boyfriend." Her eyes fall in a dead stare on my body

I feel my blood run cold, and my throat has gone dry. Jackie's slowly turns her head in my direction and she eye's me suspiciously.

"W-What are you talking about?" I choke out

She scoffs "Oh puh-lease! Don't act all innocent I can tell that look on your face anywhere. If I didn't know any better I would say you two had sex last night."

My feet send me flying in the direction of the bus.

"Don't even think about it!" Finnick says in a low voice, as his large arm cuts across my path holding me back

"You better watch it blondie! If it wasn't for that stupid school bus I would beat that smug little face of yours!" I hiss at her through clenched teeth

Glimmer lets out a hyena like laugh, "Come on Crestdork, the bust is about to leave."

Annie rolls her eyes and walks away looking at the ground.

"Hey," Finnick says gently grabbing Annie's arm "Chin up, beautiful! I'll see you after the game!"

She runs off disappearing behind the bus.

"And you!" Finnick turns around to me, I can see the anger burning in his eyes "I don't have time to deal with whatever crazy thing your getting yourself into. I got to go get ready to leave for the game. Don't screw anything else up!"

* * *

"I can't take it!" I yell stamping my foot when I enter in the side door of the school near the locker rooms

"Clove?"

"Ghost?" I call back

The voice laughs, "Guess again!"

I see Marvel step out from behind a wall and wave at me. I run up to him and I'm surprised to see Cato, wearing his football pants and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, standing behind the wall also, without thinking I wrap my arms around his torso and rest my head on his chest.

He kisses me on the top of the head, "Is everything okay?"

"It's Glimmer. She's a - for lack of a better word - a bitch!" I tell the two of them

"Yeah thats Glimmer for you!" Marvel chuckles

"What are you guys doing hiding behind the wall?" I ask curiously

"Are you going to tell her or am I?" Marvel eyes Cato questioningly

"I told Marvel about us." Cato says, flinching at the end like he expected me to hit him

I laugh and shrug, "It's alright, Glimmer claimed she knew we were dating just because of my face. You better not say anything, Diamond especially not to Jackie."

He holds his hands up in defense, "Don't worry I won't. Come on we better get going. It's almost game time!"

"Good luck!" Marvel and I both say in unison, and start to head outside

"Wait," Cato says grabbing me around the waist and giving me a kiss "Don't let Glimmer bother you. She's just jealous."

"I know. See you after the game." I smile and run to meet Marvel by the door

* * *

"With only four minutes left in the fourth quarter the East Hampton bulldogs lead the Panem Mutts 21-15. Panem doesn't seem to be giving up any time soon. A lot can happen in football in four minutes. "the announcers voice booms over the loud speaker

This game is causing me major stress. I can already tell my voice is going to be shot tomorrow from all this screaming I've been doing. Both Finnick and Cato have been on their game, I know they are capable of getting another touchdown. Finnick has been trained repeatedly for clinch plays like this.

Both teams line up at the line of scrimmage, I can already tell Cato is going for a long pass to Finnick just by the way they lined up and Finnick is going to be double teamed. That's what you get when your father is a pro football player.

"Come on Finnick!" I scream latching my hand tightly on Jackie's shoulder

"Ow Clove!" She yelps

"Sorry!"

Marvel laughs from his spot one row behind us.

"Panem hikes the ball," The announcers voice starts again "Number six Rhodes drops back looking for an opening, he throws deep to a double teamed number 14 Odair. Odair catches the ball and dodges a tackle. 15...10...5... touchdown Panem Mutts!"

Our side of the field erupts into cheers and everyone gives each other high fives. I sit down on the bleacher taking a sigh of relief.

"He's not getting up, he's not getting up. Marvel why isn't he getting up?" Jackie frantically asks

I stand up and look at the field. Finnick and Gale are kneeling next to their injured teammate. I quickly catch a glimpse of a gray six plastered across the jersey. That's not just any jersey that's Cato's.

And Jackie is right he's not moving.

* * *

**A/N: OHHH cliffy! don't hate me too much! lol Any guess of what's gonna happen?**

**As usual comments, questions, suggestions, concerns welcome! :D**

**xoxo,**

**centerstagex11**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Oh my goodness you are all amazing! 30 reviews for one chapter that has to be a new record! I was surprised by how many of you thought I would kill Cato off. I don't think my Clato heart could handle that haha. Plus, we all had to live through his death in the actual THG book that I wouldn't put us all through that twice! lol**

**I love you all and thanks for continuing on this journey with me! :)**

**Make sure to take notice of who the last POV is!**

* * *

**Previously on I Never Planned on You:**

_I stand up and look at the field. Finnick and Gale are kneeling next to their injured teammate. I quickly catch a glimpse of a gray six plastered across the jersey. That's not just any jersey that's Cato's. _

_And Jackie is right he's not moving._

* * *

**Cato**

I open my eyes and see Finn and Gale staring back at me intently through the face masks of their helmets. My breathing is staggered and a shooting pain erupts through my body every time I take in a breath. It feels like I just got off that merry-go-round at the playground that Cassi and Cam are so obsessed with and I am not appreciating the nauseous feeling emerging in my stomach. I try to lift my arm, but Gale mumbles something through his mouth piece that neither Finnick nor I understand.

"Dude, take your mouth piece out!" Finnick comments

Gale reaches under his face mask and removes the rubber from inside his mouth, "I said don't even think about moving your arm. The trainer is coming out right now."

He has a point I don't know what I injured, and I don't want to make anything worse. I peer over in the direction of the bleachers only two faces stand out to me, my sister who is trying to keep her calm facade, but I know she's most likely freaking out inside and Clove, her soft porcelain skin is pale now and she watches me intently as I lie on the field.

I wish I could give them a sign, just any sort of sign to tell them that I am okay.

* * *

**Clove**

It feels like all the blood has been drained from my body and I am incredibly lightheaded right now. It looks like Gale and Finnick are talking to Cato which means he is awake at least. What the possible injury is is another story.

"It looks like he is awake at least." Marvel whispers in my ear

All I do is shake my head in agreement and feel Marvel place a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding and feel my whole body relax. Out of the corner of my eye I see a blonde streak fly down the bleachers and lean up against the fence that separates the fans from the field.

_Courtney._

"I'll be right back." I whisper to Marvel

"Move it!" I hiss as I shove passed people and walk down the bleachers

"He's going to be okay." Courtney says like she is trying to convince herself more than she is trying to convince me

Cato has gotten up and is slowly walking back to the bench supported by Gale and Finnick with the and the crowd has started to clap for him. He sits down in a heap of equipment and muscle with such force it shakes one of the poor small freshmen right off of the bench.

"Finnick!" I yell, hoping to get his attention from the sideline

"What CC?" He asks meeting me by the fence

"Is he okay?"

"I think so. He just took a nasty tackle that knocked the wind out of him and he got shaken up a bit."

Relief floods over my body and I feel a smile creep across my lips. The crowd behind us cheers as we get the field goal and win the game. Finnick runs back to the bench to be with the rest of the team. Cato slowly gets up from the bench, turns his head and spots me and his sister against the fence.

He walks over leaning against the fence and resting his head in his hands. The sweat making his short hair stick up in all different directions.

"How do you feel?" Courtney asks, placing a hand on his shoulder pad

"Better now that I can finally breath regularly."

"You scared the crap out of me." I mutter to him, resting my head on his other shoulder

He lets out a chuckle "We won that's all that matters."

"I'd like to hear you say that if you were lying in a hospital bed now." Courtney remarks the sarcasm visible in her voice.

I cradle the one side of Cato's face with my hand and place a kiss on his temple, "I'm glad you're okay. Come over later still, if you're up to it, and watch football with the rest of us. I have never seen Finn so excited to watch a USC game before."

"I wouldn't miss it." He says looking up at me and his blue eyes are so soft and genuine I feel my heart melt

I smile at him, wave good-bye to Courtney and run off to go meet Marvel and Jackie so we can all leave back to town. We all walk back chatting excitedly about our win, and I couldn't be more relieved about the fact that Cato isn't severely hurt. You can call it the curse of having my father be a pro football player, but I do worry about the fact that Cato may have a concussion.

When everyone starts to pile into Marvel's SUV I grab Marvel's sleeve stopping him from getting into his car.

"Marvel we need to talk."

"What's up Calloway?"

"Are you still coming over to watch football with everyone?"

He shakes his head yes in agreement.

"Great. Do me a favor and bring Cato with you. He took a really nasty tackle and I don't want to take the chance he has a concussion and is going to drive with it."

Marvel laughs.

"What?" I ask furrowing my eyebrows

"Are you his mother or his girlfriend?" He asks arching an eyebrow at me

I feel the heat starting to rise in my face, and laugh awkwardly "Stop! I'm just worried about him. I want him to still be able to play this season."

"Don't worry Calloway. I'll pick him up for you."

"Thanks."

We both climb into his car with everyone else.

* * *

The doorbell starts ringing wildly, in a strange pattern throughout my house. I run down the stairs throwing my hair up into a messy bun knowing exactly who to expect on the other side.

"Hello Finnick." I say greeting him and Annie with a smile

"CC we need to talk!" He says abruptly pushing passed me and walking inside the house

Annie trails in behind him rolling her eyes. I can tell by her reaction he has been on this rant since after the game at least. Annie gives me a quick hug before finding a spot on the couch.

"What's up?"

"CC, we always tell each other the truth right?" He says pacing back and forth in the living room

"What kind of a question is that? Of course we do."

"Then why haven't you told me you and Rhodes are dating?" He stops pacing and crosses his arms

_Well, I certainly did not expect that._

"Woah!" Annie says surprised behind us

_Sounds like she wasn't expecting that either._

"Umm...uhh... How do you know?" I ask

"Two things that were the dead give away. One, if you were really mad at Cato, you would have never had gotten a ride from him this morning to the high school. And, two the last time I saw you that worried about someone was when your mom was in the hospital."

"Oh." Is all that slips out of my mouth

"Not to mention I saw you kiss him at the end of the game." He gives me a wicked smirk

"Well, then I guess that was a dead give away." I laugh

He sits down in a huff next to me on the couch, "The most important question is; Does he make you happy, CC?"

"Yeah, he does." I capture my bottom lip with teeth and stare at the ground

"Well that's all that matters."

"I hate to interrupt your little sibling moment here, but did you two realize you are wearing the same outfit?" Annie chimes in looking very excited

Finnick and I both look at each other and realize we are wearing our matching gold and crimson USC t-shirts.

"Typical." I snort

"I think it's cute." Annie giggles

Finnick pulls Annie into his side and gives her a kiss on the temple, similar to what I did to Cato earlier.

_Cato better get here soon, I miss him._

* * *

My mother and Mama Odair loved to cook. She would always make everything from scratch. My favorite meal of hers had to be her homemade pasta sauce. Christmas and Thanksgiving would always be the most amazing meals ever. Finnick and I would always help cook. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he is a pretty good cook himself.

After a close trip to the emergency room, when I was little, from not learning how to use a knife properly, my mom taught me the proper way and now I can cut anything like it's no bodies business.

Now I am in the kitchen enjoying cutting up some food for everyone. Gale, and Madge showed up not to long after Finn and Annie; same with Peeta and Katniss.

I am so focused cutting the block of cheese in front of me that I didn't hear the kitchen door open and suddenly a pair strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me in close to a body that feels like a brick wall.

"Hey." The voice tries to whisper as seductively as it can in my ear, but fails and breaks into a laugh at the end

I whirl around and I am face-to-face with those amazing blue eyes of my boyfriend. He is also sporting his crimson and gold sweatshirt with black sweatpants, his hair is wet, from a shower I'm sure, and is sticking up in spikes and his silver dog tag necklace shines around his neck.

"You are awful at trying to be seductive." I say playfully hitting him in the chest

"A guy can try can't he?" he laughs, giving me his signature crooked smile

I lightly tug on his dog tags telling him it's okay to kiss me now. He leans down and gently places his lips on mine. The kiss is so gentle, my body molds to the shape of his body and all I want to do is spend the rest of the night in his arms.

"How are you feeling?"

"Do you know how adorable you are when you worry?" He says poking me on the nose "Baby, I'm fine trust me."

He pulls me into a tight hug.

"Finnick knows about us." I blurt out, ruining our perfectly good moment

"Does he want to kill me?" Cato asks scrunching his face

"Surprisingly, no. He said as long as you make me happy that is the most important thing." I tell him

"Well, that is all I plan on doing." He smiles

"Okay, JACKIE we can go see if CLOVE is in the kitchen and I am sure she is all ALONE, too." We both hear Marvel obnoxiously scream from the living room

"What is wrong with you?" Jackie asks confusedly

"Crap! Come on we'll go out to the deck!" I whisper grabbing Cato's hand and we both slip through the sliding glass door.

* * *

**Marvel**

_I really hope they got the message and either Cato is out of there or both of them are. Jackie is staring at me like I have lost my mind, if she only knew what I had to deal with right now. I am not looking forward to her reaction when/if she finds all this out._

I walk behind Jackie as she pushes through the kitchen door, and of course the first thing that we both spot is Cato and Clove on the deck. Clove is sitting on the railing of the deck and Cato has both of his hands on either side of Clove keeping her steady on the rail, Clove leans in to give Cato a kiss.

_Why now of all time's would they decide to do that?_

Jackie lets out a loud gasp, and I wrap one arm around her waist and one over her mouth pulling her away from the door and closer to my body.

"Jackie, whatever you do do not scream!" I whisper in her ear

"Are they dating?" She hisses at me, after prying my hand off of her mouth

"Yes."

"And you knew?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" She hisses smacking me in the arm after she says every word

"Because everyone knew you would act like that." I say grabbing her hand and intertwining it with mine

She lets out a huff and walks away from me towards the direction of the door.

"Jackie please don't be mad." I say as sweetly as I can, wrapping my arms around her waist

"Look how happy they look." I whisper to her as we watch our best friends through the window

Cato lightly brushes a piece of hair away from Cloves face and she giggles.

"After what they have both been through, they belong together."

* * *

**A/N: Yayy the full update! Thank you all again for reviewing and sticking with me! I love you all!**

**as usual comments, questions, concerns, suggestions welcome! :)**

**xoxo,**

**centerstagex11**

**Shoutouts- CH. 16**

**Guest-**Thank you so much I am so glad you like it!

** 24- **I promise It won't be such a long wait next time!

**Chey- **lol I hope it wasn't that long of a wait this time around**!**

**RealMcCoy16- **Don't worry Cato is fine! Thanks for your continuous reviews!

** 123- **Yay Cato is fine! Thanks for reading!

**Phoenix Retribution-**haha your reviews always make me laugh! Thanks for your continuous reviews and always reading! :)

**Emma- **Wow thank you! I am glad you thought it was a good cliff hanger.

**Shae101-**Thank you! Don't worry Cato is fine :)

**Thyndergurl- **go right ahead I give you full permission to! lol

**FlamingArrows- **aww thank you!

**Hannie597- **Thank you soo much! :)

**Ally- **Don't worry I will keep writing! Thank you for reviewing :)

**CeCedancelover-**Ahhh! I'm sorry! hope you like the update!

**Stockhorse-**This has to be a record for how many times someone reviewed a chapter at one time! loved all your reviews! thank you so much! I think your guesses were really good! Thank you for still reading!

**UnicornChloe**- don't worry I don't plan on killing Cato off!

**OdairBear**-lol thanks for reading!

**hello55522**-Don't worry I will!

**FinnickOdair-**Will-Live-Forever- wow that's dedication! Thank you so much and welcome to my story :)

**CATOISMYLIFEP- **awww thank you! :)

**Marianeclover**- Thank you sooo much! Sorry to leave the cliff hanger! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Bell-**Thank you soo much for reviewing! :)


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay, so this is a short, filler, kind of chapter to set up for what is going to happen next! :)**

**I got the idea late last night and wanted to include it today!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Clove**

"Cato!" I squeal, squirming under his grip while his finger's dance up and down my body tickling my sides

One minute we were doing homework and the next thing I know he has me pinned down on the floor and he is tickling me, I don't know what has gotten into him. I try swatting his hands away, but it doesn't work. He just tickles me harder and lets out a bark of a laugh.

"Cato this isn't helping us finish our homework! I barely get out between laughs

"Homework isn't my biggest concern right now!" He smiles mischievously at me, wiggling my eyebrows

Cato is in a very touchy feely kind of mood today. Don't get me wrong I don't mid him at all like this. However, I do when we have English homework that needs to be finished by tomorrow.

"Cato I'm serious," I grab his wrists with my strongest grip pinning his hands to the floor "We need to finish our English homework for Havensbee's class"

He sees the seriousness in my face and pushes back from his spot above me sitting on the ground. He crosses his arms and pouts like a four-year old.

"But, I don't wanna!" he complains looking up at me, his blue eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun

I adjust myself onto my hands and knee's and crawl in Cato's direction, eventually kneeling in front of him. I cup his face in my hands, staring him straight in the eye. He gives me a goofy smile breaking all the serious face.

"Cato," I say sweetly "If we finish our homework now. We can do whatever you want when we are finished." I finish winking at the end

"You better not be lying!" He says like a four-year old that was promised a basketball shaped lollipop if he went to the doctors.

"Would I lie about a thing like that?" I say in a false shocked tone

He smiles widely at me and leans in to kiss me, but just when he is close enough to kiss me, I stand up and pat him on the head walking back to the couch.

"We haven't finished our homework yet!" I say tauntingly sauntering over to the couch

"That is SO not cool, Clove!" He voice has returned to its normal octave now

I laugh plopping down on the couch and leaning my back against the arm and pulling my knees up to my chest. Cato takes the seat on the middle cushion and I stretch my legs out over his lap. He hands me my notebook and leans his notebook against my legs.

"Okay, we have four questions left for Perks of Being a Wallflower. It shouldn't be that long." I ask looking up at Cato

He just shrugs his shoulders.

"Oh come on negative Nancy! It's not gonna be that bad," I say smiling "alright, question sixteen Charlie considers the reader a friend, simply because he or she listens to what Charlie has to say. Do you consider yourself Charlie's friend by the end of the novel? Why or why not?"

"And. We. Are. DONE!" I exclaim adding the final touches to the last question

"Woohoo!" Cato bellows tossing his notebook onto the table in front of us "Now if I remember correctly a certain someone made a promise to me about doing whatever I wanted after we were done with our homework?"

I laugh moving closer to him and wrapping my arms around his neck. He wraps one arm around my waist, sliding down the couch laying his back on the cushions. I lean closer preparing to kiss him, when suddenly the low hum of the garage door emits through the house.

"Clove?" I hear someone call

"Dad?" I yell back

I push off of Cato and run to the direction of the garage door.

"Really Clove?" Cato moans leaning up on one elbow

I stop twisting my body back in Cato's direction, "I'm sorry, babe."

I run back to the couch cradle his face in my hands and give him a deep and passionate kiss. I pull away and the look on his face looks like he is very satisfied.

"Hi sweetie!" My dad calls when he spots me

"Dad!" I yell running to give him a hug "I'm glad you're home. I didn't expect you this early. Good job on the game yesterday!"

"I was able to get an early flight, so I thought I'd come home early."

He looks up and spots Cato standing in front of the couch. He slowly walks in Cato's direction eyeing him strangely. I trail behind him giving Cato an apologetic look.

"Well, Clove are you going to introduce me to your new friend?" He asks

"Umm...Dad this is Cato Rhodes. Cato this is my dad, Ryan Calloway."

"Ahh, so you're the boy the new boyfriend." He says smirking

"What?" Cato and I say in unison

"H-how do you know?" I stutter

"I have my sources, Clove." He says without breaking his eyecontact with Cato

_Finnick._

"His name wouldn't happen to be Finnick Thomas Odair. Would it?" I question raising my eyebrow

"Possibly."

"He is so dead." I mutter under my breath

"Wow." I hear Cato, gasp quietly

"Something wrong, Bato?" My father asks

"Cato, Dad. It's Cato."

"No sir, it's just you are the whole reason I have stayed with football all this time. You are my idol. It really is an honor to meet you." Cato says excitedly, smiling widely at my dad

_Well, that was smooth. Good job Cato! My dad always loves his fans._

Dad laughs and holds his hand out to Cato, "Well Cato, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Cato excitedly reaches out and shakes his hand.

"Strong hand shake! That is always good." My dad remarks

"Is that yours Cato?" He points to the crimson and gold USC lanyard attached to Cato's keys

_Here we go. Cato should just propose to me now, once he tells my dad he wants to get into USC on a football scholarship there is no way my dad will ever let me date anyone else._

"Yes it is, Sir. I hope to get into USC for next year on a football scholarship. I am the quarterback at school."

"You're the number three ranked quarterback on the East Coast, correct?"

"Yes, sir." Cato says smiling

Besides his brother and two sisters his ranking as quarterback Cato is the one thing he is most proud about. Having his idol, my dad, recognize that is probably huge for him.

"Well, stick around son we've got a lot to talk about." My dad says patting him on the shoulder

My dad turns to me, smiling "He's a good kid, Clove."

"I know."

I slip my hand in Cato's intertwining our fingers. He squeezes it tightly and I can tell just how excited he is about this moment.

* * *

**A/N: Aww yay Clove's dad approves! :) lol any guesses what could be coming next?**

**as usual comments, questions, suggestions, concerns welcome!**

**xoxo**

**centerstagex11**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Thank you guys so much for all the kind words about the hurricane! Don't worry I am fine and so is all my family! We were lucky enough to make it through the storm safely! The reviews were truly touching and very nice! :)

On to the story! This isn't the full chapter. It's kind of a preview almost. I will be uploading the full chapter very soon I just wanted to give you guys a little something since I haven't updated in a while! I know the first part is very "fluffy". I promise you the full update will have more drama in it!

******NEW******

**I bet you guys didn't expect me to do the full update this quickly! Like I said some drama ensues, along with your usual Clato moments!**

**I really can't thank you guys enough for all your generous reviews! It truly does mean the world to me that you take the time to read my stories. Even if you don't review I still love you all! I wouldn't be where I am with my writing if it wasn't for you guys!**

**Make sure to check out the bottom for some special announcements and Shout outs!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Clove**

I walk quietly through the halls of school the only sound is the steady thump of my feet on the floor. I swing the water bottle in my hand back and forth as my breath finally starts to even out; I take the sleeve of my t-shirt and wipe the sweat away from my forehead. The three mile run at the beginning of practice always kills me.

"Calloway!" Someone bellows from the end of the hallway

"What Hawthorne?" I instinctively yell, knowing he is the only one that calls me that, quickly spinning on my heels

Except it's not Gale, I see Cato's large figure slowly walking towards me a nervous smile plastered on his face. When he gets closer I can finally tell that all he is wearing is a pair of gym shorts and no shirt, my eyes slowly trail down to his abs. I instantly feel the heat rising up in my face. Sure, Ryder had abs, but Cato's abs look like they were sculpted out of stone and makes me blush like a second grader every time I see them.

Not to mention I have noticed he very rarely wears a shirt during practice.

He stops in front of me and lets out a low chuckle. I can hear the smug smirk painted on his face without even looking up.

"You planned this on purpose didn't you?" I look up at his face narrowing my eyes at him

"Maybe. Maybe not." He wiggles his eyebrows at me

"Someone is a little full of themselves today."

"Or someone just decided to take full advantage of knowing their girlfriend blushes like second grader whenever she sees my abs." He winks at me

_I knew he planned this._

"What do you want?" I ask as my finger aimlessly traces the lines of his abs

Cato nervously rubs the back of his neck with his hand and his eyes nervously search the floor like it is magically going to give him the answer. I take the hand that was tracing his abs and grab his hand that is lying limp by his side.

"Cato is everything okay? You have been acting weird all day." I ask as calmly as I can

He squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath, he opens them again before staring me deep in my eyes. I instantly feel myself slipping into the deep abyss of his magical blue eyes.

"My cousin is getting married in two weeks. My aunt said I can bring you if you want to come. My parents are going to be there. You don't have to come. You can if you want. I just don't want you to feel pressured or any-"

"I'll be there." I say simply, popping the top off my water bottle and taking a swig

Cato's looks like a deer in headlights, I have never seen his eyes so wide.

"Y-You will?" He splutters out

"Mmmhmm" I shake my head still inhaling the water from my bottle

I watch his shoulders visibly relax and he smiles at me.

"You do realize my parents are going to be there. They are the most critical people I have ever met."

"I am going for you, Cato. If you want me to be there, then I will."

"I do want you to be there."

"Than I will." I smile widely

"You're amazing you know that?" He reaches up with his hand and plays with the end of my pony tail that hangs over my shoulder.

"I know." I lean up on my tip toes and kiss him quickly on the cheek

* * *

"Jackie! Jackie, I'm freaking out!" I pace back and forth in front of her

She gets up from my bed and grabs my shoulders staring me straight in the eye.

"Get a grip, Clove! We have went over every detail about what you need to do and what to wear. You will be fine."

I am leaving in about a half hour with Cato and all of his siblings to go into Manhattan for his cousin's wedding. It took a lot of talking to my dad before I finally convinced him to let me go with Cato. I even had to bring Finnick into this whole thing to help me convince my dad it was okay. I swear my dad likes Finn better than me some times.

Jackie and I went shopping last week for a new dress for me to wear. I found a strapless A-line dark purple cocktail dress and I am bringing the same pair of silver heels I wore to the party at Jackie's house. She has been at my house all morning helping me pack and going over what I need to wear when I finally go to the wedding. Everyone knows the whole dress, heels, and make up thing isn't my forte, so it's always good to have Jackie around for help.

Everything was going smoothly until I decided to have a panic attack that I will do something terribly wrong and the fact that I am so nervous to meet Cato's parents.

"Sweetie, think about it," Jackie says guiding me over to the open spot on my bed next to all of my bags "As nervous as you are to meet his parents. He's ten times as nervous, you know how he feels about them."

"You're right. I need to relax."

"I have everything for tomorrow planned down the detail and as easy as possible don't worry you will look fabulous."

Before we know it, I hear my dad starting to talk to Cato downstairs.

"Clove!" My dad calls

"Coming!" Jackie and I yell back in unison

I check myself in my full-length mirror one last time to check my outfit. Jackie let me borrow sparkly red tank top, and a black cardigan. She paired it with my dark jeans and black boots. I make my way down the stairs with my backpack, over night bag, and dress still in its plastic cover and stand next to Cato. He quickly takes my overnight bag and dress from me. He is wearing the blue plaid shirt that he always wears and jeans.

"Fox." Cato says nodding to Jackie

"Rhodes." Jackie replies in the same monotone voice

_I will never understand their relationship._

"Have fun kids and be safe! Don't do anything stupid." My dad says smirking

"Thanks Dad," I say awkwardly laughing "I left the information for the hotel on the kitchen table like you said. I will see you in a few days!"

I reach towards my dad and give him a hug. He reaches his hand out towards Cato's hand to shake it one last time.

"Take care of her, Cato."

"You can guarantee that, Sir."

"Ready, Cloves?" Cato asks

I quickly give Jackie a hug and follow Cato out the front door to his sister's car. We walk around the trunk and load my bags in. Cato quickly shuts the door, and wraps his arms around my waist; I lace my arms around his neck.

"You look beautiful." He whispers, and quickly closes the gap between our lips to kiss me

He and I climb into the back row of the SUV they have behind Cam and Cassi. Cato takes the seat closest to the wall and I slide in next to him. After about ten minutes, of playing car games with the twins, I notice Cato hasn't said much and is constantly bouncing his knee up and down.

I place my hand on his bouncing knee and lightly rub his thigh trying to calm him down.

"It's going to be okay." I mutter to him soothingly

I hate seeing him like this. He is always the one to take the weight of the world on his shoulders and not want to show any emotion other than his cocky side. He has always been the first one to keep me calm and keep me relaxed. This weekend is my turn for him.

He places his hand with the palm up on thigh, I aimlessly draw circles on his hand. It always calms him down when I do that. I feel his whole body relax next to me he takes the hand that was on my thigh and drapes it around my waist pulling me close to him, I lean my head on his chest and before I know it I am fast asleep.

* * *

"Clove, wake up!" Cato whispers more urgently in my ear

My eye's fly open and I sit straight up breathing rather heavy. Then I realize the tight grip I have on Cato's wrist and immediately let go.

"Damn, you got a strong grip for how small you are!" He says rubbing his wrist

I ignore his comment about my size and anxiously run my hand through my hair.

Cato runs his hands down my arms and intertwines our hands together when they meet. I feel the seat shift underneath me and he leans up, gently placing his lips on the crook of my neck.

"You okay?" he whispers softly in my ear. His warm breath on the back of my neck sends chills down my spine.

I shake my head, "Yeah, bad dream."

Cato sits back in the corner where the seat meets the wall of the car. He grabs my hips and pulls me in his direction so I am sitting in between his legs with my back resting flatly on his chest, then he wraps his arms around me and kisses me on the temple.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No, not really. I'm fine honestly."

"Oh, alright." I can hear the hint of disappointment in his voice

I don't want to bother him about a bad dream that I had about my mom. He has too much to worry about. I'll just text Finn later and tell him what happened.

"How much longer until we are there?" I ask

"Any minute." Courtney chimes in from the drivers seat

Cato's arm tense around me and I take one of his hands and start to stroke circles on his palm again. I tilt my head up trying to get a good look at him from my awkward position, he tilts his head down and slowly kisses me.

"It's going to be okay, I promise." I tell him

He buries his face in my hair and lets out a sigh. Moments later Courtney pulls in front of a large and extravagant looking brick building. It's a typical looking upper East Side apartment building.

"We're here." She exclaims rather unenthusiastically

"Fantastic." Cato moans

Cato and I wake the sleeping twins in the row in front of us before getting out of the car ourselves. We are met by a guy in a perfectly pressed black tux wheeling a luggage cart. We load all of our bags onto the cart and head for the main entrance of the building. Cato grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers and keeping me close to his side.

"Ahh the Rhodes siblings have arrived!" Exclaims a man sitting behind a podium when we walk into the building

Cato excitedly leads me over in the man's direction and stops right in front of the podium. The man is easily in his late 30s a full head of curly brown hair and bright green eyes.

"Hi George."

"Well, well, well Cato Rhodes is back in the flesh. The last time I saw you, you were half the size you were now and a lot scrawnier then you are now."

I cover my mouth with my hand trying to stifle my giggle as I watch Cato's face turn a slight shade of red out of the corner of my eye. George is right. I've seen pictures of Cato when he was younger and he looks nothing like he does now. He had the same body type as Marvel and was a lot shorter than he is now.

"Who is the lovely girl you've got hiding behind you?" George says standing up and smiling at me

"This is my girlfriend, Clove."

"Nice to meet you. Is Cato being a gentleman to a lovely lady like you?"

"Absolutely." I giggle and hold my hand out to shake George's

"Cato, come on! We got to get this done sooner or later." Courtney calls from the elevator

"Sorry, George! We will be back to visit later."

"Bye George." I wave as Cato and I walk towards the elevator

"I like him! He seems cool." I tell Cato as we squeeze into the elevator

"He is awesome." Cato says smiling happily

"Cato would always hang out with George when we lived here. The two of them would always make some sort of trouble in the lobby and George would let Cato hide behind his podium when Cato wanted to get away from our parents." Courtney says, holding a sleepy Cam on her hip

"He's the only thing I miss about living here." Cato says

The elevator finally dings and the doors slide open. Cato's grip tightens on my hand and I rub my thumb on the back of his hand.

"It's time. Smile little brother." Courtney mutters then gives Cato a hardy slap on the shoulder

Cassi runs out of the elevator to a woman sitting on the couch. The women stands up lifting Cassi with her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and setting Cassi backdown on her feet much to Cassi's disappointment. Cassi runs back to us and wraps her arms tightly around Cato's leg, letting out a small whimper and Cato quickly rubs the top of her head.

We are met in the living room by a woman that looks just like Courtney, who I am assuming is Cato's mom. Her blonde hair pulled up into a bun, and she has a skirt suit on with designer heels. She has very sharp and angular facial features, her eyes may be the same color as Courtney, but are nowhere near as welcoming as Courtney's. She doesn't seem warm and welcoming at all, and she kind of scares me.

She leans in and awkwardly hugs the rest of her kids. Cato's hand only releasing from mind to hug his mother, but returns immediately like our hands are two magnets. She takes a step back and narrows her eyes at me staring me up and down.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend Clove." Cato says very tensely

"What happened to Glimmer? This one clearly doesn't come from a legacy. Glimmer was from a legacy, Cato." The words just roll of her tongue like it was a normal sentence to say to someone

"Mom!" Courtney says in an exasperated tone covering her face with her hand

Every muscle in Cato's body is tensing up and if he doesn't get out of here soon the really expensive vase on the table next to us is going to be smashed into very tiny pieces. There is a very awkward silence that follows. I do the only thing that comes to mind.

"N-nice to meet you." I splutter, holding out my hand

She looks at my hand and with a disgusted look on her face, decides to shake it. Cato is about to blow next to me, I can see the fire burning inside of him.

"Cato, I think you need to leave ... now!" Courtney says in a worried tone

Cato turns quickly on his heels and he pulls me along to his bedroom. Once we are there he pulls me in and slams the door shut so hard the pictures on the wall rattle.

"Your staying in my room tonight." He growls

"What? I thought your parents rules were I had to stay with your sister."

"I don't give a shit about my parent's rules. Clearly they don't give a shit about me either. You are staying in my room for the rest of this trip." He growls at me

"O-okay." I tell him and back up against his closet door not really sure how to get him to calm down from this

He storms across the floor and sits on his bed running his hands through his hair. I take advantage of the calm moment and go sit next to him on his bed and rub my hand across his broad shoulders.

"I'm sorry." he mutters

"It's not your fault. But, I do have to ask what does she mean by I'm not a legacy?"

"That you don't have rich parents. She clearly doesn't know who your dad is." He lets out a defeated chuckle

Cato turns to me and gives me a weak smile. I grab both sides of his face with my hands and kiss him on the forehead. He starts to leave a trail of kisses down my jaw line when we hear his door handle jiggle open. We quickly separate and stand up getting ready to face our visitor.

We are greeted by whom I assume is Cato's father. He looks just like Cato, the same color blonde hair and blue eyes. His eyes are more welcoming then Cato's mother, but I don't find them as warm and mesmerizing as his son's eyes.

"Hi Dad." Cato says with a little more ease than when he talked to his mother

"Hi Son. Good to see you again." He says giving Cato a hug

"You must be Clove. We have heard quite a bit about you." He turns to me and holds out his hand, smiling at me

"Yes, Mr. Rhodes. Nice to meet you." I reach out to shake his hand

"Just call me, Charles."

Cato seems a lot less tense standing next to me with his dad in the room compared to his mother.

"I just game to let you know, dinner is about to be served."

"Dad we are not coming. We're going to eat downstairs."

"Cato don't make this difficult."

"I can't eat with her. Especially after the way she treated Clove."

"She's your mother, Cato. I want to hear about football, and get to know your girlfriend more."

"But, Dad-"

"I don't want to hear another word. I will see you both in the dining room." He says before disappearing through the door

"He doesn't seem that bad." I say turning to Cato and arching my eyebrow

"Just give it time. This dinner is going to be hell." He moans rubbing he forehead

I walk over to him and tightly wrap my arms around his torso. He wraps his arms around me and buries his face in my hair again like what he did in the car earlier.

This is going to be an interesting weekend.

* * *

**A/N: Soo thoughts? We finally meet Cato's parents for the first time! Up next: Dinner and the wedding (With a few surprise guests)! :D**

**As usual comments, questions, concerns, suggestions, welcome :)**

**Two big announcements:  
**

**1) In celebration of reaching over 300 reviews. I am holding another contest similar to the one I held for reaching 100 reviews. But, this time the person that wins gets to create a OC that will come into play later on in the story as Clove's friend from her old school! More info on that will be coming next chapter!:)**

**2) I am in the early stages of developing another Clato story! It will be different than this one, with more personal touches in it. I will let you know more as I get closer to posting it.**

**Shoutouts:**

**Guest: **Aww thank you!

**CATOISMYLIFEP: **you are very welcome! :)

**Guest: **Thank you!

**Stockhorse: **Aww you are so sweet! :)

**soccergal21: **gotta love Clato! :) haha

**RealMcCoy17: **Thank you! :)

**ClatoAddictionAlexbelleForev er: **Ohh wow that is so flattering! I am so glad that you love it! Thank you go reading (:

**Break Through The Walls: **Hope you like the update!

**Guest: **Thank you soo much! I am glad you like the idea! :) You are not stupid! don't worry! Thank you for the review xx


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Yayy happy update day! :) I hope you all had a good week! Guys, I just realized this is chapter 20. It's insane I can't believe I have written so much. I can't thank you all enough for being along for the ride with me and still reviewing and reading. I am feeling a little ambitious this weekend so you may have another chapter up this weekend.**

**I am changing things up a bit and putting the shout outs in the first A/N and then the bottom will have the info for the contest!**

**Shoutouts:  
Thyndergurl- **I am not that weird with the whole C thing I swear! haha When I started writing I felt like Cato's family would be one of those families where all of their names started with the same letter! haha

**cecedancelover**- aww thank you soo much! I am really glad you like the story! Yes, everyone loves a little angry Cato ;) haha

**Guest- **I will! :)

**Stockhorse- **Thanks! I hope the dinner lives up to expectations! :)

**lilylovesmusic- **Thank you! and you are very welcome :)

**RealMcCoy17-** Thank you! :)

**Guest- **DING! DING! DING! You my friend are a winner! That was exactly the approach I was going on about Cato's family! I am glad it was able to come off that way. :)

**MidniteMasquerade**- Thank you! :)

**AmandaKK1524-** Aww wow that is soo nice! Thank you so much! :)

**Abby-**Thank you! :)

**Shae 101-** Hope you like the update!

**clatoisforever-** Wow that is dedication! Welcome to my story! I am glad to have you along for the ride! Thank you soo much that means alot! I will definitely continue writing! :) Liv it up!

* * *

**Clove**

Cato and I walk downstairs in silence. He keeps a firm hold on my hand like he has been doing all day. Almost like if he let go he would float away and I am like his anchor. Once we reach the dining room Cato leads us over to the end of the table that is farthest from his mother. He sits in the chair on the right of his dad, who is sitting at the head of the table, and I take the empty seat next to him.

"So, Cato tell me. How is football going?" Charles says

"Good. We have two games of the regular season left before we go to the playoffs." Cato says, barely moving his eyes from our dinner that was just placed in front of us

The plate is filled with a piece of fish- salmon maybe?- grilled vegetables, and a spoonful of mashed potatoes. It looks delicious. At the other end of the table I hear a muffled argument between Courtney and her mother.

"Broccoli makes Cam sick. He doesn't like broccoli." Courtney hisses through her teeth, clearly annoyed

"Of course he does. I'm his mother I would know a thing like that." She snaps back at Courtney

"Clearly, your definition of being a mother must not be written in English." Courtney says under her breath, I somehow was able to hear it and stifle a laugh

Out of my peripherals, Cato eyes me with curiosity. "Later." I whisper and rest my hand on his thigh

"How did you two meet?" Charles asks, clearly trying to distract us from the commotion at the other end of the table

"School." I answer him

"She's best friends with Finnick so we hang out in the same group of friends." Cato adds

Charles eyes furrow together as he stares at my face intensely. I feel Cato tense up slightly next to me. His dads face suddenly relaxes and a smile spreads across his face. It's the same crooked smile that I associate with Cato so well now.

"Clove, any chance your father is the same Ryan Calloway that was on the poster on Cato's wall?"

Cato and I both look up at the same time from our plates in utter astonishment about what he had just said.

"Yeah, that's my dad." I tell him smiling

"H-How?" Cato splutters

"You may not think I listen or care son, but I do." He gives us a satisfied smile before returning peacefully to his dinner

Cato and I sit next to each other in silence while we eat, both of us still a little shocked about what just happened.

"Cato." His mothers voice makes every vain in my body run cold.

"What?" Cato replies tersely

"Have you talked to Glimmer recently?"

Cato scoffs, "No."

"Why not? Her mother said she is devastated about your break up. I could see why." Her eyes travel towards me and stare at me in disgust

I feel my anger starting to bubble up inside of me and Cato is turning the familiar shade of red he turned before when we first came here. If only she knew that damage I could do with a knife.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cato looks directly at his mother, his eyes have turned from his usual blue to black pits of fury

"I mean look what you are dating now. Glimmer was beautiful."

"Mom, Clove is a person not a thing." Courtney snaps at her

Next to me, I hear a faint cracking of glass and it's too late for me to do anything before the crystal class grumbles under Cato's grip. The delicate stem of the glass stood no chance under Cato's strong grip.

"Shit!" Cato hisses, shaking his hand and I watch as two drops of blood spill from his hand onto the tablecloth

I stand up quickly from the table and grab Cato's shoulder, "Cato come on." I whisper as calmly as I can in his ear, but he doesn't move.

"Excuse us." I tell Cato's dad, he shakes his head in understanding, but is face is pained with disappointment

"Cato now!" I tell him with more urgency

He stands up and starts to follow me, his hurt hand cupped and gradually filling with more blood. He quickly kneels down beside Cassi and whispers something in her ear, she takes Cam's hand and the two of them disappear through a door. I am not really sure where I am walking, all I know is I need to find a bathroom and some medical supplies.

"Well, that was a little unnecessary don't you think?" We hear his mother say

"Wait!" Cato says in a hushed tone, and I have no time to protest before he grabs my waist, pulling me close to him as we hide against the wall just around the corner from the dining room.

Cato's forearm is long enough to reach around my whole torso, his thumb rubs idly on my stomach near my hip bone.

"Unnecessary? You're kidding right?" Courtney snaps

"He should really get help for his anger. Emma, look up the best anger management professional in the city."

"Emma don't you even think about it!" Courtney yells "This really has to be some sick joke."

"The boy has problems. As his mother I think it is only right that I do something to try to fix it."

"His mother?" Courtney shrieks "I have been more of a mother to those three kids than you ever have."

I am stunned and my feet seemed to be glued to the ground the only thing that is keeping me from breaking down Cato's warm and comforting grip around my waist. Courtney has never lost her cool, she was always the easy-going and relaxed one. But, I guess when it comes to her siblings that's when she looses it.

"I will always be their mother."

"To the twins, maybe. But, to Cato you are long gone to him. If you were truly his mother you would know that Glimmer isn't the perfect person that you think she is. Were you there when she broke Cato's heart? No, I don't think so."

"You're lying. Glimmer is a nice girl and would be perfect for Cato. If he only broke up with that _thing_."

"That thing! Mom you have completely lost your mind. If you only took a minute to see what was really going on, you would see how good Clove is for him and how much of a man he has become in the last two months since they have started dating. But, that's right all you don't care about us at all."

"Courtney." Charles says in a warning tone to 'calm down'

"No, Dad. I'm not done yet. You don't know what it means to be a mother and you never will." Courtney says

"Courtney, that's enough. You need to go cool off." Charles bellows

"Come on." Cato whispers in my ear

After a few minutes of walking through the hallways, to find a bathroom with the proper supplies to fix Cato's hand. Cato sits down on a stool by the sink and I open the first aid kit and examine what we need.

Cato lets the blood that pooled in his hand drain down the sink and take a pair of tweezers I found and pull out the few pieces of glass that embedded themselves in Cato's hand.

"This is the worst part. But, I have to put the antiseptic on." I say giving him a small smile

He closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath like he is mentally preparing for the pain, "Just do it."

I pull his hand over the sink and, as gently as I can, pour the antiseptic onto his hand. He hisses in pain and his face puckers like he just ate a lemon. I slowly rub my thumb on the inside of his wrist hoping to help the pain. I repeat the process one last time and after I am done I large square bandage on his palm covering up all of his cuts.

I lean in a quickly kiss him on the cheek. He quickly grabs my hips and pulls me onto his lap, I wrap my arms around his neck and he rests his head on my chest. I rest my chin on his head and we both just sit there together in silence for a while. He is exhausted, I can tell, both mentally and physically. We really need to get this weekend over with.

"I am sorry about everything. I told you my family was horrible." He says in a broken voice

If I didn't know any better I would say he was about to cry.

"Shh..." I tell him as I run a hand through is golden blonde hair "You didn't do anything wrong. Your sister has to be the coolest person I have ever met thought."

We both let out a defeated chuckle.

"Cato, Can I ask you something."

"Anything." He says looking up at me through red eyes

"Would you ever go back to Glimmer?"

"That's not even an option, Clove. You are mine and I am yours. That's how it works."

He takes his uninjured hand and wraps it under my chin closing the gaps between our lips closer together.

This time when we kiss. I get a new feeling I have never felt before. Like the warmness that radiates on your body when the spring sun hits you for the first time on a still cool day.

I think I may be in love with Cato.

* * *

**A/N: :O Thats a big bombshell at the end! lol Thoughts? The wedding is absolutely next chapter. This chapter would have been really really long if I included both events. lol**

**Comments, questions, concerns welcome as always :)**

**CONTEST:**

**Okay to celebrate 300 reviews I am holding another contest! There will be three questions and by popular request from my last contest the questions will be a bit harder. You can PM me your answers, or put them in your review. **

**If you win, you will get to create an OC that will come into play as a person from Cloves past.**

**1) What age do you think I am? 15-17 18-20 21-24**

**2) There are going to be quite a few surprise guests to appear at the wedding. Two of them I have mentioned quite a bit in my story and two are from the Hunger Games series that I have not mentioned. (HINT: They are one of the tributes from Catching fire!) And the other guest I am keeping a surprise! Guess two out of the four.**

**3) Choose two songs that could go with any chapter that I have written so far. It could be any chapter you want.**

**May the odds be ever in your favor ;)**

**xoxo  
Centerstagex11**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hello Everyone! So I would like to call this weekend the super update weekend! I am updating this story twice tonight and I am also starting my new Clato story this weekend! Woo! **

**If you guys want I will post an authors note here when I do post my new story!**

**A lot is about to happen in the next two chapters so prepare yourself my dear readers! :)**

**Warning: This chapter is very fluffy and very corny! But, I thought it was very cute! I got the idea and had to include it!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Clove**

My eye's fly open and I am panting, gasping for breath. I look up at the ceiling, trying to focus my thoughts while a shiver ripples through my body. I take in a shaky breath and press the heels of my hands to my eyes trying to stop the tears from streaming down my face.

That was second bad dream in the same day; both involving my mom.

I roll over in Cato's bed and see him sprawled out on the blow up mattress on the floor. I quietly laugh remembering the argument he and his sister had just a few hours ago before we all fell asleep. Courtney said it was fine that I stayed in Cato's room, but if she walked in and found both of us in the same bed Cato wouldn't be having children any time soon. She certainly knows how to lay down the law to have Cato wary to even do anything and it takes a lot to scare Cato. I had to try very hard to stifle my laughing while the conversation was going on. Cato insisted on giving me his bed and he would take the blow up mattress to sleep on no matter how many times I refused I didn't mind sleeping on it.

I slowly peel back the comforter, wipe the stray tears from my eyes and gently set my feet on the floor. I won't be getting back to sleep any time soon, so I am hoping to find my way to the kitchen to get a cup of water at least. I take one step forward and next thing I know I am face first in the blow up mattress and Cato let's out a low grunt underneath me.

"Shit!" I mutter and push myself back up on my knees

_Smooth Clove, very smooth._

Cato squints at me at, his eyes still heavy with sleep, "Clove?"

"Sorry! Go back to sleep." I kiss him quickly on the forehead

Before, I can fully pull away he grabs my face with both hands.

"You've been crying." His voice is clearer now

"I'm fine really. I'll be back in a few minutes. Go to sleep tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Cato pulls my head down to his and places his lips between my eyebrows, "Don't be long."

Before I know it he is asleep again; completely dead to the world. I silently laugh and gather myself off of the floor. I slowly open his bedroom door and step out into the hallway.

"Pssst"

I turn around and see a silhouette in a door frame and the room is dimly lit by a television.

"Pssst Clove."

"Court?"

"Yeah, come here."

I walk quickly into Courtney's room and I am greeted by decorations from Courtney was teenager.

"Pretty weird, right? The last time I was in here I was 18. Have a seat on my bed." She says closing the door to only a crack

I know I should be curious to hear more about the story of how she came to raise her three siblings by herself at only 18, but I am too tired to think of that now. I climb up onto her bed and hug one of her stray pillows close to my chest.

"Is everything okay?" She asks, joining me on her bed

"Yeah, just a bad dream that's all."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Thanks, though."

I am not one to tell people my deepest secrets, I always told my mom everything though. Of course there is Finnick too, but that is kind of a given.

"Are you sure? You seem pretty shaken up by it. I always told Cato that it is better to talk through a dream, especially if it wasn't a good one. It always worked for him." She smiles sympathetically at me

I really have come to think of Courtney as an older sister, she has always been nice to me. If Cato trusts her maybe I should too?

"Well, we were all at a wedding. Actually it was me and Cato's wedding," I feel my cheeks start to go pink "I was watching the whole thing though, but the whole time I knew it was our wedding. I finally got a glimpse of the bride it wasn't me-"

"Was it Glimmer?" She raises an eyebrow

"Exactly. She then proceeded to take a gun out of her dress and shoot my mom who was in the front row and I had to watch my mom die all over again." The tears start to flow steadily down my face again

"Oh God! I blame my mother for the whole Glimmer thing." She gasps "Did you tell Cato?"

"No." I wipe the tears away from my face

"Do you not trust him, Clove?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I trust him, he's my boyfriend."

"What about Finnick?"

"That's different. I've known Finnick since I was born, I trust Finnick with my life. He's my best friend, but that's it and Cato knows that."

_Where is she going with this?_

"Are you sure? Because I know my brother and as much as he knows you two are best friends, I can tell he's jealous of your relationship with Finnick. My brother doesn't get jealous easily, trust me, but he's different with you Clove. He's very protective of you and I know he would want to know about what happened."

_Wow. Is she serious? Of course she's serious, it's Courtney she doesn't tell you bullshit especially if it has to do with Cato. But, why hasn't Cato told me any of this?_

I hear a muffled click of a door and turn my head to see Cato, standing in just his sweatpants with no shirt on, near Courtney's door rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"Is that all true?" My voice comes out raspy as I crawl to the side of Courtney's bed that is closest to Cato

Cato doesn't say anything as he walks to meet me by Courtney's bed. I stand up and grip Cato's shoulders to steady myself so that now he and I are eye-to-eye.

"Cato? Is it true?"

"Of course it's true, it came out of my sisters mouth. She doesn't lie about much," We all quietly laugh "I just wasn't planning on it being said that way."

I lean in and press my forehead to his, so I can stare him in the eyes.

"Cato, I've known Finnick since I was born. I am used to going to him for all of my problems. I even went to him when I was dating Ryder. You're different, you make me feel special, and I need to learn to come to you more. I'm sorry. But, please don't be jealous of Finnick there is no need to be." My voice cracks at the end, I close my eyes and one single tear trails down my cheek

_Okay, I definitely need to get some sleep I only cry this much when I am really tired and the look in Cato's eye's say he knows that I need sleep. I feel bad that he feels this way, I wish he had told me earlier._

Cato gently wraps his finger around my chin and gently pulls my lips towards his. When we pull away I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I ever doubted anything. I know how much he means to you." He whispers in my ear and wraps his hands around my hips pulling me close to his body

"But, you mean more Cato." I barely get out, as sleep starts to make my eyelids droop

"How about we get back to sleep?" Cato says adding a low chuckle that I feel vibrate against my chest

"Good idea."

Cato runs both of his hands down my legs and lifts me up so my legs wrap around his waist and he is carrying me like a small child. Normally I would protest, but I am way too tired to say anything.

"Thanks." Cato whispers to his sister

"All in a day's work, little brother." Courtney laughs stretching her legs out on her bed

Cato makes the short walk across the hallway to his bedroom and gently lies me down on his bed. I slide under the covers and snuggle my head deep into the pillow that smells just like Cato. The smell that I have come to incorporate as safety and normalcy. Cato places his lips between my eyebrows and goes to lie back down on the blow-up mattress.

"Wait!" I say grabbing his wrist

"What?" He smiles tiredly at me

"Stay with me?"

"But, what about my sister?"

"I think after tonight she'll understand. Don't worry you'll still be able to have kids, if I have anything to say about it." I tell him laughing

Cato slides into bed next to me and I lean my head on Cato's chest drawing random shapes on his bare abs. Cato wraps an arm around my body pulling me in protectively to him and he presses his lips gently against the top of my head.

"No more bad dreams tonight, Clove. I can promise that. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Cato."

Of course he was right, I had no bad dreams for the rest of the night.

* * *

**A/N: YAYYY for fluff chapters! sooo thoughts?**

**See you all later tonight for chapter 22!**

**xoxo,  
centerstagex11**


	22. Chapter 22

**Clove**

I stand in front of the mirror that is hanging on Cato's closet door trying to twirl my hair around the hot curling iron just how Jackie taught me too. Surprisingly I've been doing a pretty good job. Jackie would be proud.

"No way!"

I turn my head and see Cato leaning on his door frame, in only his black suit pants, with a mock shocked look on his face.

"Do you own a shirt Cato?"

"I could say the same for you, beautiful." He winks at me

I look back in the mirror and remember all I am wearing is a pair of black cotton shorts and a bright pink sports bra.

_Alright, he got me there._

"May I help you?" I arch an eyebrow at him before letting a piece of hair unravel from the curling iron

He stuffs his hands in his pockets and walks over to me, "Clove Calloway is actually using a curling iron. I never thought I would see the day. What have you done to my girlfriend?"

"Hey! I am doing a pretty damn good job if you ask me!"

He holds up his hands in defense, "I never said you weren't! How much longer do you think you'll be? We have to be ready in a half hour to leave for the ceremony."

"Maybe another 15 minutes?"

"Mmm-kay" Cato walks by me squeezing my side and I squeal

"Jerk."

Cato lets out a bark of a laugh before he starts to dig through the hanging bag containing the rest of the pieces to his suit. I finish curling the last piece of my hair, then unload half a can of hair spray to make sure the curls stay. I look in the mirror one last time to check the final details.

_Perfect. Just how Jackie and I planned._

I turn around to look at all of the makeup to do the final touches, when I see Cato, who know has his white suit shirt on, running gel through his hair. I watch intently as I can see every muscle in his back bulging and relaxing whenever he moves his arms around

"Woa!" I let silently escape my lips

Apparently it was loud enough for him to hear and he gives me another wink.

"Cato! A little help here!" Courtney calls in a strangled voice from down the hallway

"Coming!" He yells back "I'll be back! Can't wait to see you in your dress." He grabs his suit jacket then leaves

My phone starts to ring signaling Jackie wants to video chat with me. I click on the answer button and her face pops up on the screen and she is smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh my God! You look gorgeous!" She chirps

"You think?"

"Obviously! You only had the best teach you the basics." She flips her hair

"Ha-Ha very funny! What's going on?" I ask adding the last bit of gold eye shadow on my eyes

"Hi CC!"

"Finn?"

Suddenly Finn's face appears in the tiny screen on my phone.

"How's it going?" He asks

"It's been eventful to say the least."

"We are all hanging at Annie's and I just wanted to see how you were doing getting ready." Jackie says practically shoving Finn out of the screen

"Surprisingly well actually."

"Where's Cato?"

"Don't know. Got called to go do something for his sister. I have to put my dress on so, I am going to prop you guys here. I'll be right back."

"Alright. For the love of God Finnick sit down." I hear Jackie complain

I laugh while unzipping the back of my dress and slipping it on feet first. I zip up the best I can. I'll just ask Cato to do the rest later.

"You look amazing!" Cato says in barely above a whisper

I whirl around and see Cato is fully dressed now and he is wearing a silver and purple stripped tie that goes perfectly with what I am wearing.

"Nice tie!"

"Jackie said you were wearing purple. I happened to have this tie." He says smiling

Cato looks the most handsome I have ever seen him. The black suit cuts in on him in all of the right places and his arm muscles are easily visible through his jacket sleeves. Cato and I meet in the middle of the floor, I snake my arms around his neck and run my hands through the back of his hair. I pull him down to me and slowly kiss him; giving him just enough to want more. Today he wants more, I can just sense it through his body, but I am in that mood to taunt him today.

When I pull away he lets out a low growl, "Damn you."

"Maybe later. If your lucky." I whisper seductively and place one last kiss on his jaw line

"Will you two get a room already?" Jackie's voice echoes from my phone

"Shit! I forgot they were still on video chat." I moan pressing my forehead into Cato's chest

Cato laughs awkwardly, "Hey guys!"

"I'm watching where those hands are Rhodes! You're pretty close to not being in the safety zone." Finnick says

Suddenly, I get an idea that is about to drive Finnick nuts. I reach behind my back and unwrap Cato's hands from my waist and place both of his hands on my butt. Cato's eye's widen at first, but quickly see the look on my face and he plays along with me.

"Like this Finn?" I call out

Cato leans down and leaves a trail of kisses up my neck with his hands still firmly planted on my butt.

"CC!" He yells in a mix of anger and exasperation

Cato and I break apart and break into laughter.

"Alright guys, we have to go. See you Monday!" I say before hanging up

"Bye, Clove. Have fun! Oh for God's sake Finnick she's 17 get a grip!" Jackie yells while Finnick grumbles something

"Did you see his face?" Cato laughs

"I am so dead when I get home. Can you finish zipping the rest of my dress? I couldn't get the whole thing."

I turn around with my back facing Cato, I feel him gently take one finger and brush it along my shoulders moving my hair out of the way. His light touch sends a shiver through my spine. Cato gently zips the rest of the dress and light runs his hands up and down the tops of my arms before gently placing his lips in the crook of my neck.

"You're beautiful and I am glad you're mine."

"Wow, this place is beautiful." I whisper to Cato

"Welcome to a typical Rhodes Family Function. Everything is always extravagant."

"Don't mind him." Courtney whispers from behind us "Someone just doesn't appreciate the beauty of weddings."

* * *

Once we got to the venue Cato dragged me to the other side of the room from where his parents are. I didn't mind one bit. Cato and I sat in one row and Courtney and the twins sat in the row behind us. As soon as we sat down Cato wrapped his arm around my waist pulling me into his side. It is amazing how nervous Cato is being in a room filled with his whole family his knee hasn't stopped bouncing the whole time we've been here.

After a few more minutes of sitting around and admiring the classy decorations, I hear a shrill laugh that makes my blood run cold. Cato hears it too and both of our bodies stiffen at the same time.

"You have got to me kidding me!" Cato mutters

We slowly turn our heads and see the last person that we want to see.

Glimmer.

And trailing closely behind her, is the last person that I want to see.

Ryder.

"How the hell did she get invited?" Courtney hisses in both of our ears

All I want to do is make myself as small as I possibly can and disappear in the safety and security of Cato's grip around my waist. I slowly turn back around in my seat to face forward and image of Ryder's evil beady eyes flash through my mind. I run my wrist that was injured in between my fingers and I can vividly remember the constant pain that I was in for those few weeks.

"Hey, Clove look at me," Cato whispers and tilts my head to look at him "he won't touch you tonight. No way in hell will that happen when I'm around."

_I have to admit, he is really sexy when he gets protective of me._

He grabs my wrist that was injured and gently kisses it, before giving me a smile that sends a reassuring warmth through my body.

"Okay, you love birds. The ceremony is starting!" Courtney says

* * *

We are just to the part of the ceremony where the groom is about to kiss the bride when Courtney leans into us again and says: "You know Sam and her soon to be husband look just like you two. That could be you guys some day."

"Really Court?" Cato whispers, putting his head in his hand

"What? It's the truth."

I look at the bride and groom again and realize they do look like Cato and I. Sam, Cato's cousin, is the same build and height as me. We also have the same colored hair. Bobby, Sam's husband, is built just like Cato and they have the same hair color.

They look to be just in love as Cato and I are. Even though we haven't said it to each other yet.

_Will we ever say it to each other?_

* * *

The reception is only two floors up from where the actual ceremony is. Once Cato and I walk off of the elevator we walk to the little table that holds the place cards with our names written on it. We are sitting at table 11 and Courtney and the twins are at another table across the room. We start to make our way across the room when are path is cut off my two tall figures. I look up and see a boy and a girl with blond hair and blue eyes. The boy is built similarly to Cato and the girl looks like she just stepped off a runway, with her perfect blonde curls and her sparkly silver dress.

"Well, well, well look what the cat dragged in." The boy says smirking

Cato's face brightens up and he gives the boy a hug, "I didn't think you guys were going to be able to make it!"

"Gloss was able to make it home from school, so he picked me up on his way. Plus, we wouldn't miss a chance at annoying our favorite little cousin." The girl says playfully pushing Cato's shoulder

_Gloss? What kind of a name is that? I should have figured they were cousins they look exactly alike._

"Well, she's definitely not one of the Rhodes. Where did you find her Cato?" Gloss says eyeing me flirtatiously

Cato slips his hand into mine and squeezes it, "This is my girlfriend Clove Calloway. Clove these are my cousins Gloss and Cashmere Rhodes. Clearly the whole twin thing runs in our family."

"Hey," I say waving "Where are you guys sitting?"

"Table 11 and girl that dress is gorgeous." Cashmere says

"We are also. We are going to sit down, we will see you guys soon then." Cato says pulling me along with him in the direction of our table

We spot the table across the room and I see a boy with a familiar mop of brown hair wearing a gray suit sitting at our table.

"Diamond?" I yell

I was right. Marvel looks up at us and smiles, once we are close enough I run and give him a hug. He and Cato even exchange a manly hug.

"I didn't know you were coming, dude." Cato asks pulling my seat out for me

"Well it all happened last minute. Your cousin works for my dad so we all got invited." Marvel sits back in his seat and Cato sits in the empty seat on the other side of me, so I sit in the middle of both of them.

It feels nice to be with my boyfriend and one of my best friends. Cato is more comfortable too, especially that his best friend is here. Cato keeps his hand on my knee the whole time we sit at the table, stroking small circles with his thumb. At random times during the night I catch him smiling at me through the corner of my eye. Just as dinner is about to be served the rest of our table files in. No surprise Glimmer and Ryder are at our table.

"How the hell did they get invited?" Marvel whispers in my ear

"We still haven't figured that one out yet." I tell him

Glimmer sits next to Cato and flirts endlessly with him through the entire dinner. Cato sits rigid through the whole dinner, only giving her one word answers. I finally get her to shut up and keep her nasty, slutty hands off of my boyfriend when after we are done eating, I take Cato's face in my hands and kiss him directly on the mouth.

Cato smiles in triumph, and Glimmer lets an annoyed huff. But, she kept her hands off of him for the rest dinner.

* * *

"Cato where are you taking me?" I moan as he drags me up what has to be at least the third flight of stairs

"Stop complaining, short stuff."

"Hey!"

He barks out a laugh, "We're almost there."

"At least let me take off my shoes my feet are killing me!"

"Come here," He says pulling me close to him, he swiftly lifts my feet out from underneath me and carries me bridal style "You are so lazy."

"I'd like to see you wear these heels all night, then get back to me."

He presses his nose against my temple then gently presses his lips to my head. He carries me up two more flights of stairs then places me down on the floor in front of a door. Cato pushes the door open and we are greeted by a roof top deck area decorated with small delicate lights. There is a bar set up and a few extra stragglers from the wedding.

"Come on." He says grabbing my hand and leading me over to the side of the building

"I love the city at night!" I tell him, as I look over the edge of the building

There is something about being in New York City during the night. The bright lights from the buildings against the night sky is a mesmerizing sight. I feel Cato's body press up against me and both of his hands appear on either side of me leaning against the building. I turn around so am facing Cato and I look up at him. His blue eyes dance along with the lights from the city.

"Cato? Why are we up here?" I wrap my hands around his waist under his suit jacket, to help keep me warm from the cool breeze off of the building

"I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time, Clove. I know how much you love the city so I thought this was a great place to tell you. I-I umm... I love you, Clove. I have never met someone that makes me feel like you do. I love you so much." He gives me a tentative smile

I have to take in a deep breath to stop myself from letting out a high-pitch squeal of excitement. My heart is fluttering at the speed of a humming birds wings.

"I love you too, Cato." I squeak

A smile of relief spreads across Cato's face and he leans down crashing his lips against mine.

* * *

I walk out of the elevator and an arm shots out blocking my path from walking back into the reception room.

"Hello, Clove."

The voice sends chills down my spine, I know exactly who it is. I take a deep breath and swallow the lump in my throat.

"Ryder."

"So, I've seen you have found yourself a new boyfriend." He places his other hand on the other side of me, making me unable to move.

"Yeah, so what. It's none of your business asshole." I snap at him

"Now, now, now Clove," He says taking his finger and brushing a piece of hair away from my face "No need to get testy. I just want to talk."

"Yeah, right. Like I would want to waste my time talking to you."

Suddenly Marvel appears in the doorway and stops dead in his tracks. He looks horrified, last time this happened he ended up with a black eye and I blacked out. I shoot him a pleading look and he disappears from sight.

"Don't you have a girlfriend you should be getting back to?"

"She's off flirting with some other guy. So I thought I'd mess with you." His beady eyes bearing deep into me

Before I know it, Ryder is ripped off of me and slammed against the wall with a loud grunt. I drop against the floor and feel an arm wrapped gently over my shoulder.

"You okay Clove?" Marvel asks quietly

I just shake my head yes and watch the scene that is unfurling in front of me. Cato has Ryder pinned up against the wall, Cato is seething with so much anger that his crystal clear blue eyes are now black bits of fury.

"I am really tired of your sorry ass messing with my girlfriend." Cato growls

"I wasn't doing anything, Rhodes. Shove off." Ryder says practically gasping for air

Cato lifts Ryder off a few inches from the wall and slams him against it again, "Bull shit. You don't know how badly I have been waiting to get my hands on you, Kensington. I may not have been there to protect her from you the last time, but you can bet I am going to make you pay twice as hard for ever laying a hand on the girl I love."

"Does he always get this bad?" I whisper to Marvel

"I've never seen it this bad. But, he has hated Kensington for years. I guess him messing with you just put Cato over the edge."

Cato slams Ryder against the wall one last time and Ryder falls in a mass to the ground. Cato walks over to me getting ready to pull me into his arms, when Ryder stands up and walks over to Cato with an angered look on his face.

"Cato!" I yell out

But, it's too late Ryder grabs Cato's shoulder spins him around and punches Cato in the face. I let out a scream and cover my face with my eyes, Marvels arms tightens around me.

"He's okay Clove." Marvel says

I look between my fingers as I see Cato suddenly spin around and punch Ryder back in the face. Ryder falls backdown again this time I am pretty sure he is not going to get up. Cato stumbles over to the stairs and sits down holding his face in his hands. I stand up from the ground and run over to sit next to Cato. Marvel just stares at me dumbfounded about what to do next.

"Marvel, get Gloss and have him help you get this dumb shit out of here" I say pointing to Ryder "Get Courtney and tell her to get some ice and that we should probably leave now."

Marvel shakes his head and is gone in a flash. I sit down next to Cato and wrap my arm around his shoulder; he just moans in pain.

"You're going to be okay Cato." I whisper rubbing the back of his head gently with my hand "I love you."

* * *

We are all packed back into the car and on our way home to South Hampton. Cato and I changed out of our nice clothes and I now sit in one of his large sweatshirts and a pair of sweatpants. He wears a similar out to me. He and I are back in the back row of the SUV, Cato's head in lying in my lap while he keeps the bag of ice against his eye. I mindlessly run my fingers through his hair just trying to keep him calm and hopefully it'll get us both to fall asleep.

"Cato, was that really necessary for you to do?" Courtney says annoyed from the front seat

Cato rolls his eyes annoyed, "You don't know what happened that night at Jackie's, Court. He deserved to get his ass beat."

"But, we are already the rejects of the family. I don't want everyone hating us more because you got into a fight at Sam's wedding."

"Since when do you care?" Cato retorts

Courtney lets out a moan and then it's silent for a while.

"Cato, it's been a long day. Just get some sleep or something." Courtney says, the level of annoyance very clear in her voice

After that it is silent in the car, except for the low hum of the radio. I lean my head back comfortably against the head rest continuing to mindlessly stroke Cato's hair. We stare at each other for a while never breaking eye contact. Until I yawn and let out a small giggle. Cato reaches his hand up and strokes my cheek with his thumb.

"Get some sleep, Clove."

I slowly drift off to sleep, thinking about that moment of the roof when Cato finally told me he loved me.

* * *

**A/N: WOO! Okay so that was a lot! haha Thoughts?**

**I am soo sorry this wasn't up last night, it was like 1 in the morning and I could barely keep my eyes open so I had to get some sleep! But, I hope you like this! :)**

**Thank you everyone for all of your reviews; they really do mean the world! And I know I have some new reviewers: Welcome! I am glad that you are hear and thank you for reviewing and reading! :)**

**For those of you who entered my create an OC contest I have contacted the winner! But, thank you for entering for those of you who did entered! I loved all the entries!**

**xoxo,  
centerstagex11**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: **I'm baaccckk! :) haha Just warning you now but some of you may hate me by the end of this chapter! But, it's going to help the story keep moving!

****NEW** Hi all! I went back and edited the small part about when Cato finds Clove on the beach. I re read it a few times today and felt the way I was writing Clove she wouldn't really do something like how I originally wrote it. You can re-read it if you already read it, but if not it won't make much of a difference.**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Cato**

I sit at my desk finishing off the last question of my math homework. If I don't finish this Clove is going to be upset.

_Holy shit I am so whipped._

I rub my hands through my hair and chuckle. I hear a loud crash and someone starts crying.

"Cato!" Cassi wails from downstairs

"Coming!"

_I am going to kill my sister for leaving me alone with the torture twins._

I push back from my desk and race down the stairs. When I look over the railing Cassi is sitting in front of a pile of blocks, crying her poor little eyes out. I walk over to her and she lifts her arms up for me to pick her up. I pick her up and she rests her head on my shoulder and wraps her tiny arms around my neck.

"What happened Cas?" I ask rubbing her back to try to calm her down

"C-Cam pushed my b-blocks and gave me an owy!" She points to her forehead and sticks out her bottom lip

There is a red spot forming on her forehead, I laugh lightly and lean forward to kiss it.

"Is that better?" I ask

"No!" She wails and buries her face in my shoulder

_She is such the drama queen! Note to self, don't let her hang out with Courtney anymore._

"Cam?" I call out

He pops out from behind the recliner, his big green eyes staring up at me. I somehow manage to sit down still holding Cassi, without falling or killing both of us. Cam inches forward and sits in front of us clutching his plush football toy.

"Cam, did you hit Cassi with her blocks?" I ask him

He just shakes his head and looks down at his feet. I shift Cassi around so she is sitting in my lap facing Cam.

"Can you say sorry?"

"Sorry, Cassi." He mutters, but the 'rr' has a 'w' sound and the 'ss' has a 'th' sound

I chuckle at my brother's slight lisp, I have been reminded many times from Courtney about me having the same thing when I was his age. There is the home movies as proof, too.

"It's okay, Cam." She says reaching over to hug him

"How about some popsicles?" I announce with a smile on my face

The smile on both of their faces tell me that is a 'yes'. I shift Cassi off of my lap and place her on the ground to stand up.

"Cato, up!" She whines reaching her hands back up to me

"You are a piece of work!" I tell her tickling her in the stomach and she squeals with laughter

We walk over to the freezer and I pull out one purple and one red Popsicle, I give the red one to Cam and the other to Cassi. They both start licking fiercely at the cold poles in their hands. I look back in the box and see there is an orange Popsicle in there also. I reach in the box and take one for myself

_It's a Popsicle. Who wouldn't want one?_

"Courtney is so going to kill me for how much I spoil both of you!" I tell them and they just smile back at me

I walk with Cassi back to the living room and sit with her on the couch as I change the TV channel to some kids cartoon show. My eye catches Came as he stares intently out the window that looks out onto the beach.

"What are you looking at buddy?"

"Cato, Who is that?" He turns to me and there is red all over his face

_Okay, Courtney is definitely going to kill me._

I sit Cassi, who is now mesmerized by something on the TV, on the couch and join Cam by the window. I don't have to look twice before I know exactly who it is. Clove is walking- no, more like stumbling- on the beach passed my house. She is flailing her arms and can barely keep balance.

_Is she drunk? No, she can't be. She wouldn't do something that stupid._

There is a sudden crack of lightning, the skies open up and the rain starts pour down on the beach. Clove falls on her butt in the sand and throws her hands up in the air.

_What the hell is going on? Why are you standing here you moron, go see if she is okay!_

"I'm home!" Courtney's voice rings through the house

"Good, I'll be right back!" I tell her and open the door to the deck

I run to the edge of the deck and lean against the railing Clove is sitting staring out at the ocean not moving.

"Clove!" I yell

She still doesn't move. I move down the stairs and letting the rain soak my clothes. Once I reach Clove I kneel next to her and brush a strand of yet hair out of her face.

"Baby, you okay?" I mutter

"Hey." She whimpers and tucks her head into her knees

I press my hand to her cheek and tip her head to look at me, there are tear tracks down her cheeks, "Babe, what happened?"

She crawls towards me and wraps her arms tightly around my neck and lets out a sob in my shoulder.

"Shhh...baby it's okay. You're safe now." I whisper to her

A strangled noise comes out of the back of her throat and I'm pretty sure it resembles 'Cato?'

"It's me Cloves, don't worry."

I kiss her on the temple and lift her up bridal style, walking both of us back into my house. We are both drenched to the bone and her tiny body shivers in my arms, I pull her closer to me hoping the extra body heat will keep her warm until we get inside.

* * *

**Clove**

When I finally wake up I am in cased by the familiar and comforting scent of Cato. The tight feeling in my chest immediately relaxes, but the thumping feeling in my head is making the room spin.

_I am not really sure why I am lying in Cato's bed. When did I get here?_

"Cato, why are you spinning me?" I moan

He laughs lightly and reaches down kissing me on the forehead. I squint my eyes open and see Cato smiling at me sitting next to me on his bed.

My eyes feel like they are the size of golf balls and extremely swollen. That's when all of the memories come flooding back to me and the tears start to fall down my eyes again. Cato's face immediately floods with concern.

"Baby, come here." He says reaches out his arms to me

I climb into his lap and bury my face into his sweatshirt. He reaches a hand under the bottom of my sweatshirt- that I could swear I wasn't wearing before- and strokes patterns along the bare skin on the small of my back.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He coos

"M-my Dad... G-Glimmer's Mom." I sob out

"W-what?" Cato stutters as his grip tightens around me at the mention of his ex-girlfriends name

"My dad and Glimmer's mom are dating!" I wail and bury my face in his chest again

Cato is absolutely speechless, he doesn't say anything for a while just hold his arms tights around me as I sob into his chest.

"I love you." He whispers to me and kisses me on the temple

It seems to be the only words he can get out while we sit together interlaced on his bed.

* * *

**A/N: AHH huge plot twist! Soo thoughts? Please don't hate me to much! **

**I hope you all liked the update I am sorry it took so long! Thanks for sticking with me!**

**xoxo,  
centerstagex11**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Yay! FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER! I know it took forever to update! I am soooo unbelievably sorry for that! I hope you all like this chapter! It is sort of a strange mish mash of emotions, but it helps set up for what is coming next! This chapter we get introduced a little bit to the OC that was created from the contest that I had!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Clove**

"Okay, so tell me again what happened?" Lindsey says, through the tiny screen on my phone.

I huff leaning my head down on the center console of Cato's truck and sticking my feet out of the window. I feel Cato start to play with the ends of my hair as he listens to the conversation. We both sit in our practice clothes from the day since we both finished at the same time Cato said he would drive me home. Since this has literally been the week from hell and Cato only lives two doors down, he insists on driving me every day to school. Right now we are parked in driveway on the phone with my best friend from my hometown.

"My dad and Cato's ex-girlfriend's mom-"

"Glitter?"

"Glimmer, Linds."

"Close enough." She waves it off, releasing her caramel colored locks from her hair tie.

"Anyway, they are dating. I don't approve, like, at all and my dad just doesn't seem to understand that."

"Did you tell him that?"

"Not really." I sit up, sheepishly playing with the end of my pony tail.

"What did you do this time Clove?" She says expectantly, knowing my tendencies to overreact.

"I-umm..."

"She left and came to my house, and was hysterically crying." Cato interjects.

"Clove, seriously?"

"Hey, you try coming home to finding out your father is dating your worst enemy's mother, then get back to me." I spit at her, my voice cracking at the end.

Cato pushes the center console of his truck up making it flush with the back of the seat, he reaches his arm around me and pulls me onto his lap, so I still sit facing the passenger door with my feet straight out in front of me. I swipe furiously at my cheeks hoping for the tears not to be too visible.

Lindsey studies my face for a while, then her features soften and she gives me a sad smile.

"Clo," She says using the nickname from my childhood "There is more to the reason you're so upset about this. What is it?"

"It's... it's my mom, Linds." She shakes her head understandingly "This is the first time he has started dating since she died and Glimmer's mom out of all people! I'd rather him date Enobaria than Glimmer's mom. My mom was my best friend and I just can't picture my dad with any other women." The tears start to stream more steadily down my eyes now.

I look back at Lindsey in the small screen of my phone and her eyes look glassy like she is about to cry any second. She knows the pain that I am feeling right now, her mom died a few years before mine did and that is how we became friends; we bonded over that experience. Our sophomore year of high school she went through a similar situation when her dad started to date again.

Cato runs his hand across my shoulder's trying to calm me down and plants a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"Maybe," She sniffles "maybe you should talk to your dad, Clo?"

"I don't know, Linds. He's so consumed with his work lately and after I rudely ran out of the house while they were there, he hasn't been my number one fan lately."

"What about Finnick?"

Cato snorts.

"Did I miss something?" She asks confused.

"Well, he hasn't talked to either Cato or I since we got back from the wedding. He is too upset about how quick Cato and mines relationship is going. I really don't know what his problem is right now.."

"I think I know." She mutters.

"What?"

"Nothing." She looks at me, smiling.

"Linds, dinner!" A voice yells from down the hall.

"Coming!" She replies.

She turns her attention back to me, "Sorry Clo, dinner."

"It's alright. Miss you, Linds."

"Miss you too, girl. Talk soon." She blows me a kiss before cutting off the video feed.

I shimmy off of Cato's lap and sit in the passenger seat again, pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on my knees.

"Ready to go home?" Cato asks.

"No, but I know I have to."

Cato puts his truck in reverse and slowly backs out of the driveway. The whole 10 second drive to my house is silent between us. Cato knows how I am feeling about the whole situation and ever since that day in his house he still seems to be speechless about the whole situation. He knows not to push to much for information, until I am ready to tell him. I couldn't thank him more for that.

He slowly pulls up the long driveway to my house and pulls his car next to mine. We sit in silence for a moment neither of us knowing really what to say. I tuck my knees underneath me and turn to the side to face him, he pushes his aviators on top of his head.

"Just try to talk to your dad Clove. Maybe if he knew what your feelings are including your mom." He says giving me a small smile.

I lean forward cupping one side of his face with my hand and crash my lips down on his. The force of his lips on mine, parts my mouth and his tongue gracefully slides into mine; both of our tongues fighting for dominance. My hands slide to the back of his head and my hands grip his golden blonde hair. His hands slide down my sides and under the hem of my shirt, his hands run up my bare back and pulls me closer to him. I rotate my body so I am startling his lap and our lips dance furiously with each other.

Cato runs a hand through my hair and cradles the back of my neck with one of his hands. His lips leave mine and we both gasp for air. His lips suddenly meet my jaw line and inches its way slowly down my neck. He leaves light and tender butterfly kisses down my neck until they dance at the crook of my neck. He gently bites down on the skin and I exhale. Right away I know the blue and purple mark that is going to be left there. I can't stop him, and I won't stop him. The amount of joy that is radiating through my body because of this, is the happiest I have felt all week and I don't want it to stop.

_I will get you back for that Cato._

I smile wickedly thinking of when it'll be my turn to return the favor. His lips move back up my neck and rests on my lips again. I am the one to break apart the kiss this time and rest my forehead on his shoulder. We both sit there gasping for air.

"What was that for?" He asks, chuckling.

"Just in case I'm not allowed out of my house again." I smile, looking up at him "My dad hates me enough already, was the hickey really necessary?"

I reach my hand up to where his lips previously were and cover it with my hand. He flashes me his signature half smile and gently peels my hand away from my neck.

"I got a little carried away, sue me for being in love with my girlfriend." His eyes twinkle at me with a familiar boyish charm.

I climb back off of his lap and dig into my practice bag and pull out Cato's sweatshirt. I pull it over my head and prop the hood up high enough in hopes to cover the invading mark on my neck.

"I'll text you if anything happens." I tell him, opening the car door.

He pulls down his sun glasses over his face and nods his head in agreement. I slam the door shut and wave as he disappears down the driveway. I walk up the front steps and take a deep breath before entering the house.

"Clove, is that you?" My dad's voice fills the house.

"Yeah."

"Come to my office."

I walk to the office and gently open the big wood doors. My dad's office is decorated with all of his old jersey's and footballs from his years in the pros. Behind his desk, is his most prized possessions of all; his two MVP trophies from the super bowls.

"Hey dad." I mutter.

He motions for me to sit in one of the empty chairs in front of his desk.

"Clove, we need to talk."

"What's up Dad?"

"First thing is we are going out to dinner tonight with Clara and her daughter Glimmer tonight."

"What? But, Dad-" I protest.

"No Clove, I don't want to hear it. After you were very disrespectful to them the last time they were here, you at least owe them and me the respect of being at dinner tonight."

"Can Cato come at least?" I ask, hoping I can get at least one person that agrees with me to be at dinner tonight.

"No, Clove. This is a family dinner."

I feel my blood start to boil at my dad's mention of the word 'family'.

"Family?!" I shriek "There is no way in hell I will ever consider Glimmer and her mom _family_!"

There is nothing he could say at this point that would make me feel better about this situation. At this point I don't even want my dad to know about my feelings; if he considers a dinner with the Cromwell's a _family_ dinner.

"Clove there is something else we need to talk about."

"What?" I spit out.

He gives me that look like don't push it with the attitude.

"I was on the phone with your grandmother earlier and at this point I am highly considering sending you back to Connecticut, to live with your grandmother and finish the rest of your senior year at Vanderbilt Academy."

_What? What? He can't be serious. He ripped me out of my old high school to move to this town because it would be good for us to start anew after my mom's death. Now he wants to send me back to my old town and rip me away from all of my new friends and my boyfriend._

_Boyfriend._

_Cato._

_Oh God._

"Why Dad? Why would you want to do that?"

"Because you have changed since we have moved here. You are not the same girl you were. My daughter, Clove, wouldn't have run off the other night and stayed at her boyfriend's house without my permission. You are only 17 Clove. You are too young to be doing that. I am starting not to approve of this relationship. Plus, your soccer stats have severely decreased over this season and it is all because of this boy. If you have any hopes of getting a scholarship to anywhere next year, finishing the year at Vanderbilt."

I smack my hands on his desk and stand up, "It's all about sports to you isn't it. That's all you care about. There is more to life than that and you are missing all of it. I will go to your stupid dinner, but I am only doing it because I know Mom would want me to be the bigger person and go. Mom, remember her? I do and it seems like I am the only one that does."

"Clove." My dad says disapprovingly.

"And you are not going to send me back to Vanderbilt." I yell slamming the office door shut.

I run up to my room, slam my door shut and launch myself on my bed. I pull the hood of Cato's sweatshirt over my head and bury myself under my covers.

_There is no way that just happened. I have to be dreaming._

I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again. Same place.

_Dammit._

I pull my phone out of my sweatshirt pocket and text the first person that I think of:

**Going out to dinner with Glimmer and her mom. Wish you were here. Love you -C**

* * *

**A/N: Sooo thoughts? I know a lot happened! And I know some of you were concerned with the way Clove acted at the last chapter so I hope this helps clear somethings up! Thanks for the continued support and reviews! It means the world!**

**xoxo,  
centerstagex11**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hello lovelies! So here is the full update for chapter 25! It's time to shake things up a bit! Don't hate me too much!**

**Thank you all for the lovely reviews last chapter! I truly can't put it into words about how much it means to me! I love you all!**

**p.s. dont forget to check out my tumblr flawlesslyfuhrman dot tumblr dot com. Come say hi! rant about feels whatever your heart desires! :)**

* * *

**Clove**

I stand in front of my mirror wrapping a scarf around my neck, making sure it properly covers the mark on my neck. There are footsteps coming down the hallway and I cringe waiting for what my dad is going to scold me about yet.

"Hey."

I spin around, smiling softly, "I thought Brutus cut you off from sugar cubes for the season."

"Eh, What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Finnick shrugs, popping another sugar cube in his mouth.

"I wasn't sure you'd come." I teeter on my feet, recalling the text message I sent him earlier.

"Of course I'd come CC, even if I was a giant ass hat all week." He admits sheepishly "Plus, we're family remember? We stick together..."

"Together forever." I reply, smiling and we finish with our intricate handshake we created when we were younger.

"We haven't done that in a really long time." He laughs, reaching his arms around me for a hug.

"I know." I laugh and we both plop down on my bed.

Finnick pops another sugar cube in his mouth, "So going out with Glimmer and her mom tonight?"

"Don't get me started." I moan leaning back on my bed so I'm looking at the ceiling.

"Did you even think about telling him how you feel?"

"I was thinking about it." I say.

He leans back on his hand and turns to look at me, "And you didn't tell him because?"

"He told me his thinking about sending me back to Connecticut to live with my Grandma."

"To finish the year at Vanderbilt?" He raises his eyebrows.

"Yes Finn, to finish the year at Vanderbilt. He says Cato isn't good for me, and going back to Vanderbilt will get me a better soccer scholarship for next year."

"Has he lost his mind? CC this was supposed to be our year, the only year we would have gone to the same school together. He can't do that!"

He springs up from my bed and starts frantically pacing around my room. I get up from my bed and step in front of Finnick grabbing his massive shoulders, to try and stop him from moving.

"Look, it's not definite yet. But, if I make anymore stupid moves it will be."

There is a low hum that erupts from my bed and I reach over unlocking it to see the text message.

**Heard we're all going out to dinner tonight. Can't wait to see you ;) It should be quite a night. -Kensington**

It feels like my brain just fell out of my head, and I am about to pass out any second. This can't be real, this has to be a joke. I sit down on my bed and hold my head in my hands letting out a long exasperated moan.

"CC what's wrong?"

I lift my phone off of my bed and hand it to him.

"You've got to be kidding me." He says.

He plops down next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

"What am I going to do Fin? It was bad enough just Glimmer was going to be there, now Ryder too? Ahhh!"

This time my phone starts ringing in Finnick's hands.

"You may want to answer this."

"I tell whoever it is to go AWAY!"

"It's Cato."

_Oh shit! I forgot I promised I'd tell him if anything happened. _

I sit up straight as straight as possible and try to compose myself. I grab the phone out of Finnick's hand and press the answer button.

"Hello."

"Hey," His smooth voice projects on the other side of the phone, "I was starting to get worried. How did everything go with your dad?"

"Fine." I deadpan.

_That's lie one. Let's see how many lies I make before this conversation is over. _

_I hate lying to Cato, I really do. I just don't want to worry him about what is going on. How am I supposed to tell him my dad, his role model, doesn't like where our relationship is going? Or the fact that I may be going back to Connecticut in the near future._

_Okay, breath. No reason to freak out._

"Clove, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

_Lie two._

"Clove don't bullshit me, I know when something is bothering you. Tell me what is going on?" He says in a stern voice.

I can tell his anger is starting to rise, and the longer the two of us stay on the phone together a whole in the ozone layer may explode; with his anger and my stubbornness this is not going to end well. I take a deep breath trying to compose the bubbling anger deep in my stomach.

"Cato, nothing is bothering me and everything is fine. Trust me."

_Lie three. _

"Well, I don't." He barks.

I choke on my air.

I never thought I would have heard that statement out of Cato's mouth. _He doesn't trust me. _Becausemy whole week has been all rainbows and bubbles, I just needed him to throw that in my face. I sit next to Finnick speechless for a few minutes, while holding the phone to my ear. I am trying to control my anger as best as I can... you know what screw trying to keep my anger in check. That pissed me off.

"What?" I shriek "You don't trust me?"

"I can tell in your voice you're hiding something from me. I'm coming over." He growls.

"No, you can't come over. I'm leaving soon to go out to dinner with Glimmer and her mom and my dad. I will be home in a few hours and will call you. Just trust me on this one, everything is fine."

"Yeah, if you call going out to dinner with the devil and her mother fine." Finnick mutters next to me and I slap him in the arm.

"I love you." I mutter in the phone.

There is no response and the line goes dead.

"Could this day get any worse!" I moan and lean my forehead on Finnick's shoulder.

* * *

**Finnick**

The tension at this dinner is so thick I feel like I am going to suffocate. That is going to be nice when my tombstone reads "Finnick Odair suffocated on excessive amounts of awkwardness."

Clove has spoken a total of ten words this whole night so far and most of them were to the waiter. She's kept her head down looking at her food only looking up to smile or nod her head.

I have the unfortunate pleasure of sitting next to Ryder during dinner, but there was no way in hell I would let him sit next to Clove. It's in my job description as big brother and best friend, protect her from stupid assholes like Ryder ... and Cato. That, however, isn't anything new.

As the waiter comes around placing out food on the table, Glimmer's Mom who may I add looks like a scary version of Glimmer-and by scary I mean too much work done on her face- decided to speak to Clove for the first time that night.

"So Clove," She says tossing her bleach blond hair over her shoulder "I've heard from Glimmer you are dating her old boyfriend. It's such a shame to be sloppy seconds isn't it?"

I choke on my water and out of the corner of my eye I see Clove's grip on her knife gradually tightening to the point where her knuckles are white. I place a hand on her arm closest to me and lightly squeeze it.

"CC put the knife down." I mutter under my breath.

"I can't do it Finn." She seethes through her teeth.

"I know and I don't blame you. You're doing this for your mom remember? Pull yourself together for her. You're a bigger person than them."

She takes a long and deep breath and gently places the knife down on her plate. She plasters the most fake smile on her face I have ever seen that I have to hold back a laugh.

"Well, that may be correct yes. You may want to take a look at your own daughter first, Mrs. Cromwell. If I remember correctly Glimmer knowingly hooked up with Ryder, who was still dating me at the time. So it's such a shame that you find the need to call your own daughter sloppy seconds as well."

Clove goes back to eating her dinner like nothing happened.

"That was brilliant!" I snicker shoving my steak down my throat.

The look Clove's dad gives us, however, is not so excited about her response.

A flicker of blond hair behind a menu catches my attention, I watch it for a few more minutes then finally realize who it is.

_I think we may have bigger problems right now._

"Clove," I mutter "Corner booth to the right, behind the menu. You may want to check it out."

She shifts her head in that direction and immediately rolls her eyes.

"I'll be right back." She moans, pushing up from the table.

* * *

**Clove**

I walk up to the table Finnick pointed out to me and sure enough behind one of the three menus is Cato's blond hair. I decide to play a little trick and pretend to be the waitress coming to take their order.

"Are you boys ready to place your orders ... of why all of you are here without telling me?"

The menus around the table go down revealing Peeta, Marvel and Cato in the middle. I don't care about Peeta and Marvel right now, I stand crossed arm scowling at Cato. He gives me an equal ravenous scowl.

_Ohh this is going to be fun. Neither of us, quite in the mood to be on our best behavior._

"Cato we need to talk, right now."

He gets out of the booth without saying a word and follows me outside and around the corner of the building.

"What the hell Clove?" He growls at me.

"Says the man who just so happened to show up at the same restaurant I was out to dinner. How the hell did you know I was here?"

"In all of South Hampton this is the only place Glimmer and her mom go to. So it wasn't so hard to figure out. What the hell is going on?"

"What do you want to know?" I snap.

"I want to know why you didn't tell me Ryder was going to be at this dinner and out of all people you take with you to dinner you choose Finnick. I thought I was your boyfriend."

"Cato, your jealousy is showing."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't tell you Ryder was coming because I knew you would act like you are now. What that means is remember that talk we had in your sister's room about my relationship with Finnick? I thought you understood there is no reason for you to be jealous."

Cato paces back and forth running his hands through his hair.

"Fine Clove you caught me. I'm jealous of you and Finnick. How do you think I felt walking in here and seeing you with him?"

"Cato, he's my best friend. That's it! He loves Annie. I don't love him. I don't love Peeta or Marvel. I love you! If you can't get it through your head I don't know what to do anymore."

* * *

**Finnick **

Clove walks back into the restaurant about ten minutes later, her face is red and splotchy and her hands are shaking uncontrollably. She sits down next to me and lets out a soft whimper.

"CC?"

"Don't push it, Finn."

"CC, come on. What the hell happened out there?"

She takes a shaky hand and reaches for her water glass, she takes a sip and places it back on the table.

"I broke up with Cato."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Two quick things before you read this chapter:**

**Make sure you pay attention to the POVs they are sort of all over the place!  
Incase you forget Clove's dads name is Ryan!**

**Now to the Chapter... Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Mrs. Odair**

I take the tray of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and lie it on the counter. Finnick texted me earlier saying Clove will be spending the night so I hope they will be enjoying the cookies. The front door opens and I immediately hear yelling and then the door slam shut.

"You're being such an ass Finnick!" Clove yells.

"I just don't understand why you did it. Face it CC you're scared of your father. If you just gr-"

"If you tell me to grow a pair, you don't want to know what I'll do with yours!" She shrieks, as they storm into the kitchen.

"Woa, woa, woa, what is going on?" I ask.

"Is dad home?" Finnick snaps at me.

I shake my head 'no' in response.

"If your father wasn't such a... such a..." He continues.

"Such a what Finnick?" Clove growls at him.

"If your father wasn't such an unreasonable ass..."

"Finnick." My husbands voice booms through the house in a warning tone.

Finnick's face goes pale white and he turns to me, "I thought you said he wasn't home."

"He wasn't, but now he is." I reply smirking.

"If your dad wasn't being so unreasonable about everything, I know you wouldn't have broken up with Cato. You're the queen on irrational moves Clove, but normally I know you wouldn't have broken up with Cato out of fear of your dad."

_Ahh, so there was a break up._

My husband walks into the kitchen eyeing the scene unfolding in front of us. He walks up to me and gives me a quick kiss. Clove is like a daughter to us, so seeing her and Finnick argue over something isn't anything new for us. This is a new level of arguing that I've never seen them reach before.

"What's going on?" My husband whispers.

"Clove broke up with her boyfriend and it has something to do with Ryan? I'm not really sure, just listen."

We turn our attention back to Finnick and Clove. Finnick runs his hands through his hair before leaning his hands on the back of the chair.

"Finn, think about this from my side for once," Clove pleads with him "Do you really think I wanted to break up with Cato? Being with him I've felt the most complete since my mom died. I just couldn't bare the fact of leaving him if my dad made me move back to Connecticut. This way if I have to move, I already broke up with him and don't have to go through the pain of saying good-bye. I've said it to too many people I love and I don't want to do that again," She takes in a shaky breath and crosses her arms over her torso "I-I miss him already. But, it's better this way."

I feel tears streaming down my own cheeks. The poor girl has been through enough, why Ryan would want to uproot her from here after they just moved is beyond me. Finnick leaves his spot from behind the chair and wraps his arms around Clove in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry CC." He whispers "I really have been such an ass lately. I'm just trying to look out for you."

We all stand in silence for a while taking in what just happened.

"CC?"

"Yeah?"

"You know you just broke up with probably the most stubborn," He pauses, looks down at Clove and smirks "well the second most stubborn person I know. Cato isn't going to go down without a fight."

She lightly chuckles and pulls away from the hug, "I know, that's what I love about him."

"I'll be back." Finnick says before disappearing up the stairs.

Clove takes her drawstring back pack off of her back, throws it by the stairs to the basement and gives me a hug.

"Hi Mama." She says.

"Hi Sweetie, how are you? Well, that was stupid to ask."

"No, it's okay. It ...ummm... hasn't been the greatest. As you can tell." She smirks, grabbing a cookie off of the tray.

"I can tell. I wasn't sure how you two were going to be able to make it through the night if you were at each other's throats the whole time."

"We would have made it through." She reassures me.

She breaks apart the cookie and bites into one of the pieces. I grab the milk out of the refrigerator and fill a glass for her.

"Hey Mama? Can I get your advice on something?"

"Absolutely Clove. What's going on?"

"Breaking up with Cato because I might be moving isn't the only reason I broke up with him."

"Oh really? Why else?"

"He told me he's jealous of the relationship I have with Finnick. I've told him there is nothing to worry about and Finnick is like my brother. But, that didn't seem to convince him since he showed up at dinner and we had a huge argument outside," She takes in a deep breath, "I am not going to stop being friends with Finnick. I don't know what else to do to make him not jealous and I'm really getting tired of it."

"I can see where you're getting annoyed, Clove. Try looking at it from his side, a beautiful young girl like you walks into his life, he clearly falls head over heels for you and you love him. But, for him Finnick, who has known you your whole life, is always looming in the background and Cato knows you can easily run back to Finnick any moment for him to comfort you. Cato wants to be that person for you to always come to."

"But, he's my boyfriend, doesn't that mean anything? I just don't get it." She groans, in frustration.

"I know Clove, it does trust me. Let me put in other words, basically Cato is possessive over you and doesn't want to share you, and he sees Finnick as a threat. Even though there is no need to him to be."

She furrows her eyebrows at me and I swear I can see the gears grinding in here head, processing what I just said. At the end she smiles and gets up from her seat to give me a hug.

"Thanks Mama."

"Anytime sweetie."

"By the way, Finnick doesn't know about the last part. Please don't tell him."

I motion zipping my lips, promising I won't tell him. The day her mother died I promised her I would take care of Clove and be the best mother figure to her that I can be; when she needs me.

"Don't tell who, what?" Finnick reappears in the kitchen, wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Nothing!" Clove says quickly, grabbing his wrist to drag him downstairs "Come on I could use to play some Madden."

* * *

**Courtney**

"Courtney, Cato's home!" Cassi bellows from the living room.

_Great, he can finally help me with the loose cabinet door that I am unfortunately too short to reach._

I hear the front door open and abruptly slam shut followed by a dull thud.

"Cato?" I call out.

"Hey Court." Marvel's voice returns my call.

"Marvel?"

I walk out of the kitchen to be greeted by Marvel, Peeta, and my brother. Or what should be my brother, he's leaned up against the front door, keeping his focus on the ground. By the looks of it Cato whatever emotions Cato is holding inside him when they finally reach it's peak it's not going to be pretty. Marvel and Peeta stand awkwardly in the living room with their hands stuffed in their pockets. By the look on Marvel's face whatever happened, wherever they went wasn't pretty.

I look at Cassi and Cam who are sitting with toys on the floor. My first thing I need to do is get them out of here, Cato wouldn't want them to be around.

"Okay," I announce "Cam and Cassi why don't you both go play downstairs with Peeta and Marvel?"

Cam gladly grabs Peeta's hand and drag starts to drag him downstairs. Cassi looks up at me with a giant pout on her face.

"What Cassi?" I ask.

"They are boys!" She whines "I don't want to play with them!"

_Seriously, Cassi! Now is not the time!_

"Cassi go downstairs, now!" Cato growls.

She looks from me to him and immediately her bottom lip starts to wobble.

_Ohh he's going to have to make up for that one. Cato never yells at Cassi! She's not going to forgive him easily for that one._

"Y-you're mean!" She wails.

Marvel swiftly lifts a crying Cassi up in his arms and promises her she can do the ultimate princess makeover on him if it makes her stop crying.

_Marvel has no idea what he's getting himself into._

Once it's just Cato and I alone in the living room he sits down on the couch, looks up at me and immediately starts crying. There are only a few times I have seen my brother really cry, like completely break down to the most vulnerable I have ever seen him. And I am always the one that gets to witness it because he only trusts me to see how he truly feels. Right now is getting added to that list.

I sit down on the couch next to him and wrap my arms around his huge shoulders as best as I can.

"Cato, what the hell happened?"

"She-she broke up with me." He mutters.

"She what?"

"Don't make me repeat it, Court. I know you heard me." He growls.

"What did you do this time?"

"Why is it always my fault?She is the one that broke up with me."

"Well..."

"If you even mention that thing with Jackie freshman year, I am leaving right now." He snaps at me.

"Okay, I'm sorry. You're the king of irrational decisions Cato. What do you expect me to say? The last time you came home this upset and it involved Clove, you decided to have a drunk hook-up with the sluttiest girl in your high school."

He lets out a low growl and sits silently wiping away the few stray tears from his cheeks.

"I'm sorry that was a little much. I'm trying to help. Tell me what happened?"

"When I dropped Clove off after school, she promised she would call me after she talked to her dad. It was starting to get later so I thought I'd just call and see if everything was okay. When she answered I knew right away something wasn't right. I kept asking her and she kept denying it, I may have inadvertently told her I didn't trust her."

"You what? Did you mean it?"

"Of course I didn't mean it. It was in the heat of the moment, and I was so damn angry."

"Is that when she broke up with you?"

"No, not even close. I knew she was hiding something from me and when I found out she was going out to dinner with Glimmer, her mom and Mr. Calloway, I figured the only place they would go is that restaurant in the center of town..."

"And you recruited tweedle dee and tweedle dumb to come with you, she saw you there you two got into a huge argument and that's when she broke up with you." I finish for him.

He eyes me strangely, "How did you know?"

"I could see where it was going."

"But, you missed the most important part. When I got there I found out Ryder was there also, and she didn't call me to come with her she took Finnick."

"Oh my God, she took someone that wasn't you to dinner." I say in a mock dramatic tone "I really don't see where you're going with this Cato."

He huffs, "I knew something was wrong when I talked to her and Ryder appearing at the dinner was what was wrong. You know how much I can't stand Ryder after what he did to her, this time she didn't call me to protect her, she brought Finnick instead." He lets out an angered grunt at the end.

I finally catch on to where this is going when he says that final part.

"You're jealous she brought Finnick instead of you?"

He shakes his head in agreement.

"And that's what the argument was about. I hate to say it little brother, but you totally stepped out of line. She told you everything was fine, you inadvertently told her you didn't trust her, then proved that fact by showing up at the restaurant when she pretty much told you not to. Finally, got in an argument over her bringing her best friend. Cato, as much as she loves you, Finnick is her best friend and they have known each other for a long time. He'll always hold a special place in her life. You'll never win an argument about him. Plus, he did nothing wrong."

I can see the anger starting to rise in his eyes as he watches me speak.

"He existed in her life that's what he did wrong." He growls "She's my girlfriend- was my girlfriend- She was my girlfriend and I don't understand why she didn't trust me to tell me what was going on."

He angrily paces back and forth across the floor.

"Did it ever cross your mind that maybe she didn't tell you because she knew your anger would get the best of you if you were there?"

He stops and looks me dead in the eye.

"She said that to me before she broke up with me."

I get up from the couch and meet him in the center of the room.

"And you know it's true and now you know you should have trusted her."

"I screwed up."

"Yeah, ya did."

He snorts and shakes his head.

* * *

**Clove**

My phone starts ringing deep in the recesses of the pile of blankets Finnick and I collected for us tonight. How it got that far down in the pile of blankets I'll never know? When I finally grab my phone I see _Cato _flash across the screen along with a picture of us kissing after one of his football games.

I smile at the picture remembering that night. It was the biggest game of the season for us that night and after the win the crowd stormed the field after the exciting win. I couldn't find Cato anywhere, when I did he was surrounded by a group of girls, as soon as he saw me the girls around him seemed to disappear and he walked straight for me. The lines of eye-black under his eyes were slightly smeared from the layer of sweat on his face, his blonde hair stuck up in every direction from the sweat. I didn't care, I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a congratulatory kiss.

What can I say, I have a weak spot for boys in football uniforms.

Jackie was the magical photographer who caught that moment.

My phone stops ringing and signals for a voice mail. I look at Finnick wearily while he fiddles with his Xbox 360 controller. I press my password to listen to my voice mail and Cato's voice erupts from the other side.

"Umm.. Clove it's Cato, I know I'm the last person you want to talk to. Just call me or text me or something. I miss you already, Cloves. Just talk to me, please." The line goes dead.

My heart breaks hearing his voice again, as much as I want to call him back just to hear his voice and tell him to come over just to sit in his arms for the rest of the night, I can't. If I'm going to make this breakup without anymore pain I can't call him back. I put my phone on silent and place it next to me waiting for Finnick to finish to trying to fix his controller. He slams it a few times on the ground and presses a bunch of buttons.

"Dammit! Stupid controller!" He hisses "I'm going to change the batteries I'll be right back."

While I wait for Finnick to return my phone lights up quite a bit more revealing Cato's name every time. I reached for it sometimes to answer it, but decided against it.

_No, Clove he doesn't trust you, you can't answer the phone._

The faint sound of the doorbell rings through the house and I hear some muffled talking from upstairs.

"CC!" Finn's voice calls tentatively from upstairs.

"What Finn?"

"You may want to come here."

I groan and stomp up the stairs, through the kitchen and to the front door.

"Finn what do you want?" I ask rounding the corner from the door.

I am met with a very angry looking Cato standing on Finnick's porch.

"Cato," I gasp "what are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing." He snaps at me.

"Why don't we take care of this outside." Finnick says cautiously closing the door behind us leaving us on the porch.

"Cato, I'm serious what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, and you weren't answering your phone. I thought the best chance of finding out where you were was to talk to Finnick. I just didn't expect to find my girlfriend spending the night at another guys house."

"Ex-girlfriend." Finnick mutters behind me.

_God, does he ever learn to shut up._

"Shut up, Finnick! You're the reason I lost Clove in the first place." Cato snaps.

"What? How is this my fault? I'm not the one that doesn't trust their girlfriend." Finnick yells, storming in front of me to get closer to Cato.

"Finnick, stop! You're not helping!"

I see the rage escalating in Cato's eyes and immediately know this isn't going to end well. Cato grabs Finnick by the shirt and slams him up against the side of the house.

_See just like that._

"What are you going to do hit me? Good luck trying to get Brutus to play you for the play off's and you can say good-bye to your scholarship chances. USC won't want someone who beats up their teammates on their team." Finn sneers at him.

"Finnick, seriously shut up!" I plead with him.

"Go on Rhodes, I know you want to hit me. You're jealous of the relationship I have with Clove and that's why you two broke up. I'm not stupid."

_Dammit, I swear if Cato doesn't kill Finnick I am going to kill him._

Cato drops one of his hands and it balls into a tight fist. I run up and grab his fist trying with every ounce of energy to make it not move.

"Cato listen to me. You're not mad at Finnick, you're mad at me. He didn't break up with you I did. Think about it." I say in the most calming voice possible.

Finnick mutters a comment that seems only audible for Cato, which sets him on his last nerve. I somehow manage to shove Finnick out of the way and duck in enough time before Cato punches the wall. He hisses and crouches down cradling his hand against his chest.

Finnick opens his mouth to start speaking again, but I cut him off immediately.

"I swear to God if you say anything Finnick I will do to you what Cato was going to." I warn him and he immediately gets up to go inside.

I turn my attention back to Cato and cup his face in my hands. Memories from that day when my wrist was bruised from Ryder and Cato found out start to flood over my body, I was left in the same position. I held his face in my hands and as Peeta said "became putty in my hands."

"Cato look at me," I lift his head to face mine, "Think about it, you're not mad at Finnick you're mad a me. I'm the one that broke up with you, I'm sorry. There is so much you don't know and I wish I could tell you, I really do."

I stroke his cheek with my thumb as I talk and watch his eyes turn to back to his normal blue. I throw my arms around his neck and feel his heart beat slow down to a normal pace the longer I hold him. I pull away and sit across from him with my hands in my lap. Cato looks at me and shakes his head like the last bit of anger finally left him.

"I-I have to go." He says me, scrambling to his feet.

"I know, I understand. Good-bye Cato."

* * *

**Cato**

"I know, I understand. Good-bye Cato." She says to me as I practically sprint to my car.

When I get into the driver seat I peek quickly onto the porch and see her standing up, quickly wiping her cheeks, she gives one last look over her shoulder to my car and disappears into the Odair house.

_You almost punched your girlfriend. The only girl you ever truly loved. What the hell is wrong with you?_

I rub my hands over my face trying to clear my mind. I just need to get home, if I crash Courtney will bring me back from the dead just to kill me again.

As soon as I get home I fly through the front door and shut it behind me. I slump down at the base of the door and hold my head in my hands.

"What happened?" Courtney says, placing her book down on her lap.

"I almost hit her." I admit.

Courtney's mouth hangs slightly open; she is absolutely speechless.

"I found her at Finnick's house. She's spending the night there. It caught me so off guard, I let my anger get the best of me. Finnick decided to be a major asshole, he was the one I wanted to hit. But, Clove pushed him out of the way in enough time and ducked before I could actually hit her. I am the worst boyfriend ever."

Courtney comes over and sits down next to me.

"No you're not." She pats my knee "You're in love little brother. Not like stupid love, but truly in love. You love Clove so much, you're willing to do anything for her."

"After tonight I wouldn't be surprised if she never wanted to talk to me again. Do you know what the worst part is Court?"

"What?"

"I didn't even tell her I loved her the last time I had the opportunity too."

* * *

**A/N: Phew! Well that was quite the update, please let me know your thoughts! :)**

**I know many of you highly dislike me for what I did last chapter, I hope this sort of explains things! Bare with me with this! I thought it was time to shake things up a bit!**

**Hang in there things will turn around I promise ;)**

**Replies will come next chapter!**

**xoxo,  
centerstagex11**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I decided to make this chapter third person POV because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to do the POVs. I like how it turned out! This is probably the only chapter that is will happen so just an FYI!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

**Three weeks later:**

The bell rings to start Mr. Havensbee's Senior English class. The students file into their desks after talking to friends before class starts. Clove quickly shoves her phone into her backpack before pulling her maroon blazer tighter around her chest trying to fend off the cold. Cato takes his seat next to the tiny brunette, he keeps gaze down at his notebook taking extra care not to look at her. Whenever he sees her he has to fight the urge to want to hold her, kiss her or just tell her he still loves her one last time.

She's grown colder, more secluded only talking to Jackie or Marvel, he rarely sees her with Finnick anymore. She's not the same girl Cato fell in love with and he's worried for her. Cato thinks back to that day, the last time he felt her soft hands on her cheek, _"There is so much you don't know and I wish I could tell you, I really do." _She told him before he left that night. The words play over and over in his head like a broken record.

Maybe that's the key to why shes become so withdrawn? What was it that she's hiding from him?

Mr. Havensbee walks from behind his big oak desk and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Good morning class, today I am going to start off class by reading an excerpt from one of your fellow classmates short stories. I was very surprised by the talent of this student, and the emotion behind this story was so moving I thought it deserved to be shared." He says, grabbing a red paper folder off of his desk.

Nervous mutters erupt around the classroom in student's hopes of them not being picked. A student two rows behind Cato raises his hand to ask the dreaded question of whose piece the excerpt is going to be from.

"I'm keeping it anonymous, Mr. Williams. Since I have a strong feeling the author would want it to be that way." Mr. Havensbee replies.

He opens the red folder, pulls out a white piece of paper and holds it between folder.

"I'm a screw up," He begins reading "I have been and always will be. She, however, didn't see me as a screw up. Just one look at me and she saw passed all of that, she knew the real me just by looking at me. This time, I'm afraid I went to far, I don't think there is any turning back. I let her slip through my fingers like smoke..."

Cato starts to nervously run his fingers over the crimson and gold material of the lanyard that holds his keys, hoping Clove doesn't catch this was an excerpt from the paper he submitted. Clove catches the nervous tick out of the corner of her eye, as she continues to listen to the rest of the reading her heartbreaks more as she listens to Cato's own words that were straight from his heart about what had happened.

"I should have listened better. I shouldn't have judged. Most importantly I should have trusted her, trusted us. There are so many questions unanswered, so many things I wish I could do. Maybe she just needs space? If there is one thing I could say to her right now, it would be 'I am here, I always will be and when you're ready I'll be here to listen.' "

A silence falls over the class and Mr. Havensbee closes the folder. Cato runs a hand through his hair nervously, really wishing his piece wasn't chosen.

"Please take your notebooks out, we are going to return to those grammar notes we were taking yesterday." Mr. Havensbee says before returning to his desk.

Cato leaned over riffling through his backpack to find his notebook, when he sat back up his eyes connected with Cloves for the first time in three weeks. He immediately saw the tears pressing in the corner of her eyes his heart broke for her and he wanted to just hold her in his arms again. However, when his eyes trailed over her face and he saw the small smile tugging at her lips he thought maybe Mr. Havensbee reading his paper wasn't such a bad idea.

* * *

Cato walks down the empty hallways of Panem Prep to his locker. He grabs the knot of his tie, pulls it loose around his neck and unbuttons the top button of his shirt allowing for easier breathing.

He thinks back to the last period of the day and the hushed mutters between Jackie and Marvel and the strange looks flashed in his direction by the duo. He could only catch a few words at a time, but he repeatedly heard something about "Leaving" and "I can't believe he doesn't know yet." Cato can't deny the fact that he was curious about what they were talking about, he, however, was focused on the intense football practice he was about to face.

As he rounded the corner to his locker he was caught off guard by the sight of Clove kneeling in front of her locker. She was putting her belongings into her backpack, it wasn't just notebooks and textbooks, it was everything that fits in her locker. Cato leaned against the wall and quietly watched her as she stuffed her backpack; a few notebooks, some textbooks, a t-shirt, the picture of her and her mom from when Clove was younger and finally the picture of Cato and her. She held the picture in her hand for a while staring at it with a smile on her face.

"I'm so sorry Cato." She mutters, and finally puts the picture away.

Cato decides to take matters into his own hands and finally get to the bottom of what is going on.

"Hey Clove." Cato says, fiddling with the lock on his locker.

Clove looks up at him with wide eyes before returning her attention back to her bag.

"Hi Cato."

There is silence as they both stand in front of their lockers not sure what to say to each other.

"That's a lot to pack for the weekend." Cato says, trying to make a joke.

He internally marvels at the fact of how not to long ago it was so easy to talk to Clove and now it's like trying to talk to a stranger.

Clove looks up at him and sighs, "I'm leaving Cato."

She stands up and slides her backpack onto her shoulders.

"So am I, it's the weekend."

"No Cato, I'm leaving as in going back to Connecticut and finish out senior year there."

"W-what?" Cato asks astonished "You can't!"

Clove runs her hands over her face, "Cato, please don't make this tougher than it already is. If you want to know the details talk to Jackie."

She walks past him towards the front door of the school, but Cato grabs her wrist before she is too far.

"No Clove, I want to hear the details from you." He demands.

Clove whirls around to face him again, her eyes red from fresh tears threatening at her eyes, "Cato, please. Do you think I want to be doing this? It wasn't my plan. Just talk to Jackie she will tell you everything. If I don't leave now I am going to miss my train. Good luck at the State Game and enjoy the rest of your Senior year. I really need to go."

She shakes her wrist out of Cato's hands and heads at a quick pace to the front door.

Numb. That is all Cato feels, every inch of his body numb. She is leaving to go back to Connecticut and never mentioned a single thing to him. All the pieces suddenly fall into place and he knows this is what Jackie and Marvel were talking about. This time, Cato is determined and he's not going to let her get away.

"Clove!" He calls after her.

"What?" She snaps back through a shaky voice.

Cato walks up to her, reaching for the silver chain of his dog tag necklace and pulling it off of his neck. He gently places the necklace around her neck and kisses her gently on the cheek.

"Keep this necklace, you know why? Because I am going to see you again and I want it back when I see you. This isn't a good-bye Clove, no not at all. I am going to see you again because I love you and I don't let people I love get away from me that easily."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the feedback from last chapter! For such a sad chapter I didn't expect such positive feedback, so thank you! I know many of you are probably still upset about everything just give me time! ;) Hope you all like this update! Please let me know your thoughts!**

**For those of you who read my other Clato story, I'm going to try and update tomorrow!**

**xoxo,**  
**centerstagex11**

**Shout outs:**

Catostrophic-Cloverfields: Aww thank you soo much! :)

T: Don't worry give it time my dear ;)

Guest: I'm glad that you liked that aspect I thought it was sort of different

CrazyAnnoying: Thank you soo much! I am glad you liked it!

TheUnrulyBallerina: Don't hate Finnick to much! He's not that bad! Honest! Thank you soo much I am glad that you enjoyed it! :)

ScarletandGold13: Good point maybe Cato should take a class from Annie, How to not be Jealous 101 lol :)

Clato4ever7: Thank you! :)

Beautiful-isabelle-fuhrman: aww wow, that means so much! sorry for making you cry though!

Fan: Hope you like the update!

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Guest: a;kdf;skl Thank you! :D

Abby: Thank you soo much! I am glad that you liked this! It was a very emotional one to write for sure! Thank you thank you :)

Guest: I didn't want to make Finnick such an ass! Don't hate him too much! Don't worry things will be fixed soon my dear ;)

OdairBear: Aww thank you soo much! :)

CATOISMYLIFEP: Don't worry! Stay tuned my dear :)

The Persona: Thank you soo much! :)


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hello everyone! Since I got so many reviews in the last two days telling me to update so I decided to update! You are lucky I love you all so much because I wasn't planning on updating quite yet! I hope you enjoy this update!**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: Keep in mind, If you guys were paying attention to the relationship between Cato and Jackie you would have seen it wasn't the most normal relationship and Clove was slowly starting to be curious about their strange relationship.**

* * *

As if today couldn't get any worse now it's raining. First, my girlfriend left to go to live back in another state, then I'm pretty sure I sprained something in my shoulder during practice, and now it's raining. Way to add insult to injury!

I sit in the empty parking lot in school, watching the rain pound down on my windshield and feel completely lost. Normally, Friday nights when I didn't have a game, Clove and I would go back to my house, watch movies and eat every inch of food we could get our hands on, before Courtney yelled at us. Now, my passenger seat is empty and so is my Friday night.

There is an uneasy not in my stomach that I can't get rid of and I am pretty sure it is because I don't know why Clove left. It was so sudden, and the fact that she wouldn't tell me is what bothers me the most.

_"If you want to know the details talk to Jackie." _Clove's voice plays in my head.

_Jackie? Seriously Clove you have got to be kidding me, anybody else I would have been okay with, but not Jackie._

I groan and shift my truck in to reverse pulling out of the parking lot and down the roads of South Hampton to Jackie's house. Several minutes later I pull into the driveway of Jackie's large two story house. I stare at the front door trying to work up the energy to get out of my truck.

_Clove had to have done this purposefully. She must have thought this could be the one way for Jackie and me to be civil with each other. Oh, babe there is so much you don't know._

I inhale and pull the hood of my sweatshirt on my head and run out of my car up to the house. Before I even knock on the door, it opens and Jackie quickly steps out wearing a large red sweatshirt with _Diamond_ embroidered on the sweatshirt and a pair of black cotton shorts. Her red hair pulled up into a pony tail, and there is a small ring of black under her eyes like her mascara smeared from crying.

_Looks like today has sucked for both of us._

"Fox."

"Rhodes...I've been expecting you."

"Can we talk?"

She nods her head and runs down the front steps back to my truck.

"Where are you going?" I yell to her.

"We'll talk in here. Now open your damn truck before I drown."

I do as she says and join her again in the driver seat. We sit in silence for a while as the rain pounds down on the windows all around us.

"I'm only doing this because Clove is my best friend, not because I like you." Jackie finally says.

I groan rubbing my hands over my face, "You don't think I know that Jackie, I'm reminded of that fact every day. It was freshman year, we were both drunk..."

"You got me pregnant, Cato." She shrieks, tears pouring steadily down her cheeks.

It's amazing how much she still carries this around with her and I always knew it, but I guess never really _knew_ it.

Freshman year, we all sort of went nuts when we found out how easy it was for us to be able to get alcohol, there was a party every weekend that we were invited to and we would drink.

Jackie and I believe it or not, dated about half way through Freshman year. One weekend our group of friends got invited to an upperclassmen party and we all got really drunk.

Jackie and I had drunk sex that night, and you would imagine our surprise when we found out she was pregnant and we were both only 15. We kept it a secret from her parents, but told Courtney the news. We got a solid four hour lecture from her that night and that is one of those nights I never want to relive again. In the end Courtney decided to help us and keep the secret from Jackie's parents for now.

During that time, the relationship between Jackie and I actually strengthened. It actually started to feel like a real relationship and not just a stupid young, immature one. That was until a month into her pregnancy she got severe pains in her abdomen and overall ended up losing the baby. We were both devastated, but Jackie took it the worst. She told her parents she was staying over Katniss' for the night, but she was really at my house and I just held her in my arms for the whole night while she cried.

We broke up a few weeks after the miscarriage, the relationship went downhill and we both realized we weren't meant for each other the way we saw Annie and Finnick are. Overall our friendship was affected by the whole situation and that's why we have such a strange relationship now.

Thinking about it now, yes I would have love to have a son or daughter, but not when I am 16. Sitting here and looking at Jackie swatting at her cheeks, trying to get rid of her tears makes me realize she took this a lot harder than I thought.

I lift up the center consul and move over closer to Jackie wrapping my arms around her shoulders. My arms fit perfectly around her like they did with Clove and it feels like my stomach as dropped out from underneath me.

_God, I miss Clove already._

"I'm sorry, Jackie. I didn't know the whole situation still bothered you that much, you know you could have talked to me." I tell her.

She breaks away from the hug and pulls her knees up to her chest, "I know, Cato. I have to admit though, ever since Clove moved into town and seeing how much you love her and would do anything to protect her, I got jealous. You were my first love Cato and sometimes it's hard to get over your first love."

She buries her head in her knees and her face flushed with embarrassment. I would be lying if I said I wasn't stunned by this confession. I never would have imagined Jackie, of all people, jealous of the relationship I had with Clove.

"You were my first love to Jackie," I tell her and she looks up at me and smiles, "I mean we went through a whole hell of a lot together. But, look at the guy you have now. Marvel is way better than me any day, and you two are perfect for each other. He looks at you the same way you claim I looked at Clove and I know you look at him the same way too."

Jackie suddenly throws her arms around my neck hugging me tightly.

"Thanks." She mutters.

"Any time, Fox. Let's make a deal, from now on we will talk things out. I don't want you to carry around that feeling and keeping it to yourself. We both went through it together."

"Sounds like a deal," She agrees "Now for the reason that you are actually here."

I nod my head slowly, not really sure if I want to know the real answers.

"Promise me you won't say anything until I am done?"

I shake my head in agreement and Jackie launches into a full story about how Clove's dad didn't approve of how she reacted when she found our he was dating Glimmer's mom. Also, how he didn't approve of how Clove stayed the night that night and how I was changing Clove. Basically, Mr. Calloway didn't approve of me or my and Clove's relationship at all. And, the fact that her soccer numbers weren't in the range for getting a scholarship because I was a distraction. So, basically I was the whole problem.

Clove didn't want me finding out her dad pretty much hates me, so she used the argument we had about Finnick as a way to break up with me. So the day she actually left it wouldn't have been that hard to actually say good-bye to me. Well, newsflash Clove watching you leave felt like you ripped my heart out and stomped all over it.

Jackie finishes, takes in a deep breath and looks at me, "So what do you have to say?"

I push the hood of my sweatshirt off and run my hands through my hair, "I feel like I could be mad at her. I feel like I should be mad at her, but I'm not because I would probably do something similar."

"She said you'd say that." She smirks.

"I just want her back Jackie, and I don't know what to do. I learned my mistake from the whole "not trusting her" thing. I want to tell her I love her one last time. Is there any chance she could come back?"

"I doubt it. Her dad seemed pretty adamant on her staying in Connecticut."

I groan leaning my head back on the seat, suddenly my phone starts ringing in the cup holder on the dashboard. I reach for it and answer without looking who it is.

"Hello?"

"Cato?" I am shocked to hear Clove's voice on the other side of the line, there is a hint of sadness and panic to her voice.

"Yeah. Clove, what wrong?"

Jackie's widen when she hears me mention Clove's name.

"I-I umm... I really miss you." She says in a very timid voice.

I smile and a sudden rush of relief floods over my body.

"I miss you too, baby."

* * *

**A/N: Soo thoughts? I know this is a different sort of chapter and probably something you weren't expecting, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.**

**I'd just like to thank all of you for your kind reviews last chapter. You are all so sweet and I can't thank you enough for constantly reviewing and supporting me. I wouldn't be here without all of you guys! **

**xoxo,  
centerstagex11**


	29. Chapter 29

**Clove**

"I. Am. Over. Him." I insist, shutting the door to my gym locker.

"Clo, you are about as over him as I'm over the death of my favorite character in the book I just finished yesterday." Lindsay scowls at me, "By the way, have you looked in the mirror."

She waves her hands in front of me motioning to the sweatshirt I'm wearing. I turn around and see Cato's last name written in the black iron on letters on his sweatshirt that I'm wearing.

"That's all you wear whenever you're not in your school uniform. Not to mention his dog tag necklace that has been cemented around your neck since you've gotten here." She stands up and pulls her backpack onto her back.

She does have a point, I haven't taken Cato's off since I arrived in Connecticut a little over a month ago. He told me that he was going to see me again and that's when I would give him the necklace back.

I would be lying if I said I still have hope that I would see him again. We haven't talked since the day I left New York. He's probably moved on by now, I'm sure the pain has lessened because I know it has for me.

My first night was one of the worst nights I've had, I laid in bed and cried. I was so unbelievably frustrated, worn out, and tired that I finally cracked and cried myself to sleep that night.

After that day, Lindsay has always been by my side and made everything easier as the days went on. I even went on a few double dates, with Lindsay and her boyfriend, Adam, and Matt, a friend from my childhood. He's still as sweet as I remember him to be, and we get along really well. He treats me like a princess, but there is just something missing. Lindsay thought it would be a good idea for me to start to see the other guys that are out there and not stay so hung up on Cato.

"You're being ridiculous Linds. Matt and I are starting to become more serious."

"Yes, but do you love him?"

"Linds stop."

She shakes her head and laughs, "You know I'm right."

"Fine." I say, my temper slightly rising, I reach under the collar of my sweatshirt and take Cato's necklace off.

Lindsay's eyes widen in surprise, "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"To prove to you I am over him, I'm not going to wear the necklace anymore." I drop the necklace in the front pocket of my backpack.

As I watch it drop into the darkness it like everything that held me to South Hampton is gone. I feel sick to my stomach, I swallow hard making the lump in my throat disappear.

"See," I say in a scratchy voice, "I'm over him."

A sad smile spreads across Lindsay's face and she walks over wrapping her arms tight around my neck.

"God, you have such a screwed up love life." She says.

"You're telling me."

We pull apart and I grab up the rest of our bags and make our way out of the locker room to meet Adam and Matt.

"First, you have psycho Ryder, who by the way, I never liked..." She starts rambling.

"Yes, I know. You have made that point quite clear." I chuckle.

"Then, the one boy who you are meant to be with you can't because your dad lost his shit and made you move."

"Thank you for announcing that to the entire world." I smile.

We round the corner to the main hallway by the gym, Adam and Matt are leaning up against the wall talking. Lindsay runs up, wrapping her arms around Adams waist. Matt pulls me into a hug and kisses me lightly on the lips. I feel hot tears spring into my eyes, it reminds me of the quick kisses Cato would give me in between classes when we didn't have enough time to talk.

Matt is so sweet, but it's not Cato. Nothing will measure up to how I felt with him.

_Pull yourself together Clove. You could be missing something really special here with Matt. Don't act stupid._

I rub my eyes with the sleeve of my sweatshirt, hoping to make it not so obvious I was about to cry.

"How was practice?" He asks.

"Fine. Nothing special. Glad our last game is this week." I smile.

"Well our practice sucked. States can't come soon enough." Adam groans.

We all walk out to Adam's car, pile our stuff in the trunk and get in the car.

"Don't forget, I'm going to Clove's for dinner tonight. Her grandma is making an Italian feast for us." Lindsay says, ruffling Adam's hair.

"Ohh can we come?" Adam asks.

"NO!" Lindsay snaps immediately.

I look at her furrowing my eyebrows to her strange outburst.

"I-I mean, it's a girl's night. No boys allowed." She smiles.

_That was strange._

I feel my phone vibrate in my sweatshirt pocket, when I pull it out I am graced with a picture message from Jackie. It's of her, Peeta, Katniss, and Marvel from the most recent football game. Its captioned:

**We miss you girl! Things aren't the same. Come back to us! Skype soon? xoxo Jackie. P.S. Peeta finally got the balls to ask Katniss to be his girlfriend. Now almost everyone is happy.**

Her last line gets me very curious. I text her back immediately.

_What do you mean by almost everyone?_

**What do you think? Cato is a mess Clove. Hasn't been the same since you left.**

_Tell him I miss him. I miss all of you guys. Yes skype for sure! When I come visit we will celebrate Peeta and Katniss finally getting together xx_

**I will for sure :) talk soon!**

I smile and slip my phone back into my sweatshirt pocket. When I look up we are already parked in the driveway of my grandma's house.

"Come on, Clove! I'm starving." Lindsay urges me.

I scoot out of the back seat and Matt helps me with my bags from the trunk. He gives me a hug and a quick kiss on the top of the head.

"Text me after your girl's night is over." He says.

"I will." I tell him.

"Enough dilly dallying, Clove! Come on!" Lindsay yells, from the front steps.

I say good-bye to Matt and walk up to Lindsay.

"What's with the sudden change of mood?" I ask, pushing my key into the doorknob.

"I-I'm-ughh- hungry that's all." She says smiling wildly at me.

"Your hiding something, I can tell." I say opening the front door. "Hi Gram, we're home."

"Hi girls! Ready for dinner?"

"Absolutely!" I exclaim, inhaling the aroma of her homemade pasta sauce.

"I'm going to put my stuff upstairs, Linds. Want to come?"

My grandma suddenly appears from the kitchen holding a dish towel in her hands, "I could use her help in the kitchen Clove. She can bring it up later. You go ahead."

Both she and Lindsay give me strange smiles like I know they are hiding something.

"O-okay," I say tentatively, "I'll be quick."

"Take as much time as you need." Lindsay insists.

I walk up the rest of the stairs, ignoring their strange behavior. I walk down the hallway, open up my bedroom door and drop my bags by my closet. I hear a strange sound behind me and I turn around.

"Hey."

"Oh my God!"

* * *

**A/N: Ohhh Cliffy! I hope you all like it! I know it's been forever since I updated (sorry) and know I leave you on a cliffy. Who do you think it is? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Or feel free to message me on my tumblr: forever-jlawrence**

**xoxo,  
centerstagex11**


	30. AUTHORS NOTE!

**AUTHORS NOTE*AUTHORS NOTE*AUTHORS NOTE*AUTHORS NOTE*AUTHORS NOTE***

Okay, so don't kill me because this is an authors note. I would have written one a lot sooner, but I didn't want you guys to get your hopes up that it was a chapter and it's just a authors note. But, it's probably what a lot of you are going through right now, which I am sorry about. The only reason why I am writing this now is because I got a lot of reviews asking me to update.

So here is the deal, Idk when I am going to update again. I have to wait until I get the right inspiration to write the next chapter. I don't want to write a crappy chapter and post it just to post something. Then I won't be happy and neither will you all. I haven't forgotten about you guys. But, me trying to write a chapter with no inspiration, it's not going to turn out good at all. So please, I'm asking you to understand what I'm doing and have some patiences.

xoxo,  
centerstagex11


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